Some U.S. hospitals and health systems are marking up generic cancer drugs by more than five times their commercial rates, Bloomberg reported Dec. 17.
Bloomberg analyzed data from the price transparency platform Turquoise Health. Of the more than 1,700 hospitals and eight generic cancer drugs included in the data, 40% of hospitals charged at least one major insurer more than five times the Medicare rate.
While close to the majority of hospitals charged at or below the Medicare rate, some hospitals charged up to 10 times more for the generic cancer drug oxaliplatin, according to the Turquoise Health data.
A study published Jan. 24, 2024, in The New England Journal of Medicine found that compared to independent physician practices, drug price markups were 6.59 times and 4.34 times as high at 340B-eligible hospitals and noneligible hospitals, respectively.
Hospitals and health system pricing includes overhead costs such as specialized clinical teams and complex facility operations, in addition to drug acquisition costs.
Read the full Bloomberg report here.
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