Youth Colorado Medicaid Beneficiaries Had Drug Costs Of $1.1 Billion, With 47% Attributed To The 6% Taking Five Or More Medications

Youth Medicaid beneficiaries in Colorado had medication costs of $1.1 billion, with 47% of costs attributed to the 6% of youth taking five or more medications, according to data from the 2022 Colorado All Payer Claims Database. The remaining 53% of costs were attributed to the 94% of youth taking fewer medications concurrently. Of the 529,055 youth Medicaid beneficiaries that year who were prescribed one or more medications, about 6% were taking five or more concurrently, which was defined as a high level of polypharmacy. About 44% were taking two-to-four medications concurrently, and 50% were taking . . .