Skip to main content
. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Health Aff (Millwood). 2009 Jan–Feb;28(1):215–225. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.28.1.215

Exhibit 2.

Distribution of Drug Expenditures in 2005 and 2006 for Individual Beneficiaries

Decile in
2005 Drug
Expenditures
Decile in 2006 Part D Drug expenditure (row %)
Decile 1 Decile 2 Decile 3 Decile 4 Decile 5 Decile 6 Decile 7 Decile 8 Decile 9 Decile 10 Total
Decile 1 63.3 19.8 7 3.3 1.9 1.3 1.3 0.8 0.7 0.6 100
Decile 2 23 40 17.8 8 4.1 2.6 1.5 1.2 1 0.8 100
Decile 3 7 23.1 32.3 17.1 8.4 4.6 2.9 2.1 1.5 1 100
Decile 4 2.8 9.3 22.9 27.6 17.3 8 5.2 3.5 2.1 1.3 100
Decile 5 1.4 4.2 10.5 22.2 25.2 16.9 9.2 5.2 3.1 2 100
Decile 6 0.8 1.8 5 11.9 22.4 24.7 16.5 9.1 5.2 2.6 100
Decile 7 0.5 1 2.4 5.5 12.5 23.2 25.3 16.9 8.4 4.3 100
Decile 8 0.3 0.5 1.2 2.7 5.5 12.7 23.9 28.3 17.8 7.2 100
Decile 9 0.3 0.3 0.6 1 2 4.8 11.4 26.1 35.5 17.9 100
Decile 10 0.3 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.7 1.3 2.6 6.8 24.7 62.2 100

Source: Authors' analyses

This exhibit displays the percentage of beneficiaries in each decile of drug expenditures in 2005 who were in each decile of drug expenditures in 2006. Decile 1 refers to the lowest 10% of expenditures during the year; and Decile 10 refers to the highest 10% of expenditures. The mean expenditure in Decile 1 in 2005 was $6 (SD=10); the mean expenditure in Decile 10 in 2005 was $3,593 (SD=3,887). The mean expenditure in Decile 1 in 2006 was $7 (SD=11); the mean expenditure in Decile 10 in 2006 was $3,244 (SD=3,396). The distributions of these expenditures were skewed, for example, in 2006 the median, mean, 95th percentile, and highest drug expenditures were $541, $852, $2,487 and $97,632.