Blood Thinners & Anti-Obesity Shots Dominate Medicare Drug Spending

Blood Thinners & Anti-Obesity Shots Dominate Medicare Drug Spending

Blood Thinners & Anti-Obesity Shots Dominate Medicare Drug Spending

Blood Thinners & Anti-Obesity Shots Dominate Medicare Drug Spending

From diabetes injectables to blockbuster blood thinners, a handful of drugs account for a sizable share of Medicare’s pharmacy bill.

This visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao, ranks the most common drugs by total Medicare spending in 2023, sourced from Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

It tracks every claim, dosage, and dollar flowing through Medicare Part D, the federal prescription-drug benefit.

Blood Thinners Are America’s Most Common Drug

Eliquis (generic name: Apixaban) alone racked up $18.3 billion in Medicare spending in 2023, nearly double the next drug, Ozempic.

Alongside Xarelto, anticoagulants accounted for over $24 billion in 2023.

Rank Country Region Years in Poor Health HALE, 2021 Average Life Expectancy, 2025
1 🇧🇭 Bahrain Asia 17.4 64.2 81.6
2 🇴🇲 Oman Asia 17.3 63.2 80.5
3 🇸🇿 Eswatini Africa 16.9 47.5 64.4
4 🇶🇦 Qatar Asia 16.5 66.2 82.7
5 🇧🇼 Botswana Africa 16.3 53.1 69.4
6 🇦🇫 Afghanistan Asia 16.1 50.4 66.5
7 🇦🇪 UAE Asia 15.9 67.3 83.2
8 🇺🇸 U.S. Northern America 15.7 63.9 79.6
9 🇵🇪 Peru Southern America 15.1 63.0 78.1
10 🇱🇧 Lebanon Asia 14.9 63.2 78.1
11 🇳🇦 Namibia Africa 14.9 52.8 67.7
12 🇲🇻 Maldives Asia 14.8 66.7 81.5
13 🇧🇷 Brazil Southern America 14.4 61.8 76.2
14 🇮🇳 India Asia 14.4 58.1 72.5
15 🇲🇿 Mozambique Africa 14.3 49.7 64.0
16 🇮🇷 Iran Asia 14.1 64.0 78.1
17 🇲🇰 North Macedonia Europe 14.0 63.7 77.7
18 🇲🇽 Mexico Americas 14.0 61.4 75.4
19 🇫🇲 Micronesia Oceania 13.9 57.9 71.8
20 🇨🇱 Chile Southern America 13.8 67.7 81.5
21 🇨🇺 Cuba Americas 13.8 64.6 78.4
22 🇪🇷 Eritrea Africa 13.8 55.4 69.2
23 🇸🇰 Slovakia Europe 13.8 64.9 78.7
24 🇿🇦 South Africa Africa 13.7 52.8 66.5
25 🇿🇲 Zambia Africa 13.7 53.0 66.7
26 🇬🇷 Greece Europe 13.6 68.6 82.2
27 🇬🇹 Guatemala Americas 13.6 59.3 72.9
28 🇧🇬 Bulgaria Europe 13.6 62.4 76.0
29 🇸🇷 Suriname Southern America 13.6 60.3 73.9
30 🇦🇺 Australia Oceania 13.6 70.6 84.2
31 🇬🇾 Guyana Southern America 13.6 56.8 70.4
32 🇱🇸 Lesotho Africa 13.6 44.6 58.2
33 🇨🇷 Costa Rica Americas 13.6 67.6 81.2
34 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Asia 13.6 65.6 79.2
35 🇫🇷 France Europe 13.5 70.1 83.6
36 🇺🇾 Uruguay Southern America 13.5 65.0 78.5
37 🇵🇱 Poland Europe 13.5 65.5 79.0
38 🇪🇨 Ecuador Southern America 13.5 64.3 77.8
39 🇨🇿 Czechia Europe 13.4 66.7 80.1
40 🇮🇹 Italy Europe 13.4 70.6 84.0
41 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands Oceania 13.4 57.4 70.8
42 🇧🇸 Bahamas Americas 13.4 61.5 74.9
43 🇲🇦 Morocco Africa 13.4 62.3 75.7
44 🇺🇦 Ukraine Europe 13.3 61.6 74.9
45 🇹🇳 Tunisia Africa 13.3 63.6 76.9
46 🇦🇱 Albania Europe 13.3 66.7 80.0
47 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico Americas 13.3 68.8 82.1
48 🇵🇦 Panama Americas 13.3 66.7 80.0
49 🇷🇸 Serbia Europe 13.2 63.9 77.1
50 🇵🇾 Paraguay Southern America 13.2 60.9 74.1
51 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe 13.2 65.0 78.2
52 🇵🇹 Portugal Europe 13.2 69.5 82.7
53 🇭🇳 Honduras Americas 13.2 60.0 73.2
54 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan Asia 13.1 61.6 74.7
55 🇾🇪 Yemen Asia 13.1 56.5 69.6
56 🇻🇺 Vanuatu Oceania 13.1 58.7 71.8
57 🇨🇦 Canada Northern America 13.1 69.8 82.9
58 🇨🇴 Colombia Southern America 13.1 65.0 78.1
59 🇲🇾 Malaysia Asia 13.1 63.9 77.0
60 🇨🇭 Switzerland Europe 13.1 71.1 84.2
61 🇰🇮 Kiribati Oceania 13.1 53.6 66.7
62 🇯🇴 Jordan Asia 13.0 65.1 78.1
63 🇲🇼 Malawi Africa 13.0 54.7 67.7
64 🇰🇼 Kuwait Asia 13.0 67.8 80.8
65 🇬🇧 UK Europe 13.0 68.6 81.6

Their rise reflects both an aging population and expanding preventative treatment for stroke and atrial fibrillation.

With almost four million beneficiaries, Eliquis is prescribed to roughly one in 10 Part D enrollees.

ℹ️ Related: See the 25 countries that are projected have the most seniors in 2050.

Diabetes and Weight-Loss Therapies Surge in America

Four GLP-1 and SGLT2 diabetes drugs—Ozempic, Jardiance, Trulicity, and Farxiga—collectively totaled $29.7 billion.

Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro also double as weight-loss aids, driving demand beyond traditional type-2 diabetes patients.

This table lists cost per dose for the 10 most expensive drugs.

Their high list prices—Ozempic averages $356 per dose—illustrate how novel biologics multiply spending even with smaller patient counts.

ℹ️ Related: See where Americans skipped going to the doctor (even when they had to) in 2023.

Cancer and Autoimmune Biologics are Expensive Drugs

Revlimid, Humira, and Stelara each exceed $3 billion despite treating fewer than 100,000 beneficiaries each.

Revlimid’s $878 per dose and Stelara’s staggering $26,818 underscore why biologics dominate specialty-drug budgets.

Want more health-related data storytelling? Check out Ranked: Countries That Spend the Most Years in Poor Health on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.

Tyler Durden
Wed, 10/22/2025 – 21:20

Tyler DurdenSource

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