Trends in the Utilization and Reimbursement of Migraine Drugs in California Workers Compensation. (Spotlight Report, Published October 2024).
A CWCI analysis of data from the Institute’s Prescription Drug Application on medications dispensed to California injured workers through December 2023 spotlights the growing use and cost of Migraine Drugs in workers’ compensation. The report finds that while Migraine Drugs still accounted for less than one percent of all prescriptions dispensed to California injured workers in 2023 (14th among therapeutic drug groups), their utilization and their share of the workers’ compensation total drug spend have increased sharply over the past 5 years, and because of their relatively high average reimbursement per prescription, in 2023 they accounted for 4.7 percent of all California workers’ compensation pharmaceutical payments, ranking sixth among the drug groups, just behind Opioids, and ahead of Antidepressants and Musculoskeletal Drugs. To quantify the growing use and cost of these drugs, and to gain a better understanding of what is driving recent increases, the Institute report reviews situations in which migraine may be considered a work-related illness, tracks the growth of Migraine Drugs as a percentage of California workers’ compensation prescriptions and the total drug spend within the system from 2018 through 2023, and reviews recent changes in the Migraine Drug market and the drugs used to treat injured workers. The analysis points to six relatively new brand drugs that have recently become Migraine Drug cost drivers. The report reviews each of these drugs, provides information on where they may fit within the treatment regimen of a migraine patient, traces their introduction into California workers’ compensation, and measures changes in their utilization and reimbursement since their FDA approvals. Spotlight Report, $23.