Semaglutide
Brand name: Ozempic
Rank #2 of 500 drugs by total cost
Data: CMS Medicare Part D, 2023 (most current available) · Updated March 2026
$4.30B
Total Cost
3,193,643
Total Claims
$4.30B
Total Cost
71,812
Prescribers
$1,347
Cost per Claim
517,958
Beneficiaries
4,508,795
30-Day Fills
$60K
Avg Cost/Provider
44
Avg Claims/Provider
Share of Medicare Part D Spending
1.6%
of total Medicare Part D spending
$4.30B of $275.65B
Top Prescribers by Cost
Top 10 prescribers of $4.30B total
🔎 Data Overview
Semaglutide is the #2 most expensive drug in Medicare Part D, costing taxpayers $4.30B in 2023. The top 10 drugs alone account for roughly 20% of all Part D spending.
At $1,347 per prescription, this is a high-cost medication. Expensive drugs drive Medicare spending growth and create access challenges for patients with coverage gaps.
Average cost of $8,308 per patient per year. Medications at this price point significantly impact patient out-of-pocket costs and Medicare spending.
Insights generated from CMS data analysis. Statistical patterns are not accusations — always consider clinical context.
Top Prescribers of Semaglutide
| # | Provider | Specialty | Location | Claims | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tiffany Bennett | Nurse Practitioner | Corinth, MS | 792 | $2.2M |
| 2 | Phong Bui | Internal Medicine | Fountain Valley, CA | 1,132 | $1.9M |
| 3 | Ralph Oiknine | Endocrinology | Chesterfield, MO | 1,043 | $1.8M |
| 4 | Alisha Mason | Nurse Practitioner | Ripley, MS | 623 | $1.8M |
| 5 | Amer Issa | Endocrinology | Saginaw, MI | 1,261 | $1.7M |
| 6 | Syed Hassan | Endocrinology | Brownsville, TX | 974 | $1.7M |
| 7 | Jennifer Pierce | Nurse Practitioner | Tishomingo, MS | 853 | $1.7M |
| 8 | Edwin Torres | Nurse Practitioner | New York, NY | 797 | $1.6M |
| 9 | Dayal Raja | Endocrinology | New Hartford, NY | 779 | $1.5M |
| 10 | Farhad Farjoudi | Endocrinology | San Diego, CA | 947 | $1.5M |
| 11 | Ahmet Ergin | Endocrinology | Port St Lucie, FL | 866 | $1.5M |
| 12 | Benito Marranzini | Endocrinology | El Paso, TX | 858 | $1.5M |
| 13 | Pragnesh Patel | Endocrinology | Pittsburg, CA | 646 | $1.4M |
| 14 | Alfred Okeke | Endocrinology | Goldsboro, NC | 1,201 | $1.4M |
| 15 | Anju Gurung | Internal Medicine | Fayetteville, NC | 879 | $1.4M |
Top prescribers ranked by total cost for this drug in 2023.
Related Drugs by Cost
| # | Drug | Total Cost | Claims |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apixaban (Eliquis) | $7.75B | 8,995,930 |
| 2 | Semaglutide (Ozempic) | $4.30B | 3,193,643 |
| 3 | Empagliflozin (Jardiance) | $3.58B | 3,334,784 |
| 4 | Dulaglutide (Trulicity) | $2.99B | 2,175,100 |
| 5 | Rivaroxaban (Xarelto) | $2.45B | 2,628,123 |
Related Analysis
Data from CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber-Drug Public Use File, 2023. Methodology