The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report describing trends in Medicare Part B spending and utilization for “new” drugs and biologicals (approved by the FDA from 2006 through 2013). The GAO’s analysis is based on 250 such drugs identified by the FDA, 83 of which had either an associated Medicare billing code or price listed in CMS’s pricing files. According to the GAO, expenditures for new Part B drugs were concentrated among a small number of drugs. The 20 highest expenditure drugs accounted for 92% of 2013 expenditures on new Part B drugs and 26% of total Part B drug expenditures, with three drugs accounting for 53% percent of Medicare spending on new Part B drugs. The GAO attributes much of the 4.4% average annual growth in total Part B drug expenditures from 2007 to 2013 on new Part B drugs. Specifically, while total expenditures for new Part B drugs increased from $0.1 billion in 2007 to $5.9 billion in 2013, expenditures for Part B drugs approved before 2006 decreased from $16.1 billion to $15 billion during this period. The GAO also observed that there was generally a rapid increase in expenditures for new Part B drugs in the years immediately following their approval. For details, see the full report, “Medicare Part B: Expenditures for New Drugs Concentrated among a Few Drugs, and Most Were Costly for Beneficiaries.”