Expensive Antiseizure Medications Cause for Concern for Patients with Epilepsy: Deepti Zutshi, MD, FAAN

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes 

“It's a very difficult choice between making sure that pharmaceutical companies receive enough money that they get actually paid for all the drug development, which costs billions of dollars, but also making sure that public funding for these medications is sustainable over the long-term future.”

As new medications are approved every year, an increase has been observed in the cost of antiseizure medications for patients with epilepsy. The cost of these medications for epilepsy is a cause of concern, especially since vulnerable populations, such as the older population and those living with epilepsy, may have difficulties covering the cost for their prescription, even those covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

Lead author Deepti Zutshi, MD, FAAN, presented research about Medicare and Medicaid spending on antiseizure medications at the 2022 American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting, held December 2 to 6, in Nashville, Tennessee. Her study focused on the comparison of the cost of antiseizure medications from 2012 until 2020 and the possible reasons for the increase in the cost of such treatments.

Zutshi, associate professor of neurology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, sat down with NeurologyLive^® at during the 2022 AES annual meeting to provide a summary of the increase in expensive medications for people with epilepsy and the spending of Medicaid. She also offered her insights into what physicians should consider when prescribing medications and whether it is necessary to recommend the more expensive brands of medicine for patients.

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REFERENCES
1. Zutshi D, Ghuloum A, Kohls W, et al. Trends in Prescriptions and Spending of Anti-seizure Medications in Medicaid and Medicare Part D from 2012-2020. Presented at: AES Annual Meeting; December 2-6, 2022; Nashville, TN, and virtual. Poster.