Medicare Part B Drug Spending and Usage Descriptions

Medicare Part B spending data details payments for drugs administered in outpatient settings to enrollees. The dataset focuses on average spending per dosage unit and its change over time, and includes consumer-friendly descriptions of drug uses and manufacturers. It is published by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and was last updated in December 2025.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in average spending per dosage unit over time for specific drugs.
• Compare spending metrics, including Medicare payment and beneficiary liability, across different HCPCS codes.
• Link consumer-friendly descriptions of drug uses and clinical indications to spending patterns.

Strengths

• Data is provided by the authoritative U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
• Includes consumer-friendly descriptions of drug uses, clinical indications, and manufacturers.
• Focuses on specific metrics like average spending per dosage unit and its change over time.

Limitations

• Row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown, limiting assessment of scope.
• Specific temporal coverage and update frequency beyond the last update date are not detailed.
• Data is limited to Medicare Part B drugs, excluding other healthcare spending.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

Freshness

Last updated on 2025-12-11.

Geography

United States (implied by Medicare program)