Trends in the cost and utilization of publicly reimbursed cancer medications dispensed as take-home treatments from 2017–2021

Annual per-beneficiary spending on take-home cancer medications rose by 32.8% over the study period, largely due to costly small-molecule targeted therapies and immunotherapies, which made up three quarters of public spending in 2020/21 but were used by less than 8% of beneficiaries. A temporary drop in spending occurred from March to June 2020, following the COVID-19 emergency declaration, driven by more beneficiaries receiving lower-cost cytotoxic and hormonal therapies without increased public spending.