Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37005969›Full record

ArticleClinical drug investigation2023

Spending, Utilization, and Price Trends for Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in US Medicaid Programs: An Empirical Analysis from 2011 to 2021.

Young Eun Shin, Arun Kumar, Jeff Jianfei Guo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Clinical drug investigation, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
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  11. Financial burden of high-cost immunotherapy among cancer survivors in Medicare.Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice · 2025
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  14. Observational
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  20. Cemiplimab combined with chemotherapyTherapeutic advances in medical oncology · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Young Eun ShinDivision of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 3225 Eden Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0004, USA. shinyh@mail.uc.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3050-0252
Arun KumarDivision of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 3225 Eden Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0004, USA.
Jeff Jianfei GuoDivision of Pharmacy Practice and Administrative Sciences, James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy, University of Cincinnati, 3225 Eden Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45267-0004, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

objectiveImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have become a cornerstone in cancer treatment. With high treatment costs and an increasing number of young and low-income patients with cancer, there is a need to determine the current spending and utilization of ICIs in a real-world population. The objective of this study was to outline the drug spending, utilization, and price trends of ICIs for US Medicaid programs from 2011 to 2021.

methodsA retrospective descriptive analysis was conducted using the Medicaid State Drug Utilization pharmacy summary files managed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Six ICIs for this study include ipilimumab, pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab, avelumab, and cemiplimab. Yearly reimbursement and prescription numbers were calculated for six ICIs billed through Medicaid between 2011 and 2021. The average spending per prescription was calculated as a proxy for drug prices.

resultsOverall spending and utilization on ICIs have risen exponentially over the past decade. Between 2011 and 2021, expenditures increased from $2.8 million to $4.1 billion. Utilization increased from 94 prescriptions to 462,049 prescriptions in 2021 with six ICIs. The average spending per prescription, or average drug price, decreased 70%, from $29,795.88 in 2011 to $8914.69 in 2021.

conclusionsSpending on and utilization of ICIs have increased dramatically over the past decade. These findings shed new light on the impact of ICIs on state Medicaid programs and may provide insight into potential cost drivers that need to be addressed through policy.

Indexed as

Immune Checkpoint InhibitorsMedicaidAgedDrug CostsHealth ExpendituresHumansMedicareRetrospective StudiesUnited StatesImmune Checkpoint Inhibitors

Identifiers

PMID37005969
PMCPMC10066981

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.