Medicaid's expenditures for newer pharmacotherapies for adults with disabilities

Medicaid's drug expenditures have grown at double-digit inflation rates since 2000. These prescription drug costs are important contributors to increasing health care costs for disabled persons. In spite of this knowledge, little has been reported about specific patterns of medication use among disabled enrollees. We analyzed Kansas Medicaid data to describe trends in medication use patterns across 3 years among disabled beneficiaries. The marked shifts toward newer medications and disproportionate contributions of newer, more expensive medications to overall prescription costs for antipsychotics, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, antiulcer medications, anti-inflammatory agents, and opioids have implications for both policy and practice.