Study: Insurers' spending on costly meds soared from 2003-14

A new study finds that insurers' spending on very expensive prescription drugs nearly quadrupled in the U.S. from 2003 through 2014, while the number of such prescriptions filled tripled over that stretch.

The study, published Wednesday by the journal Health Affairs, indicates spending on expensive "specialty" drugs by commercial insurance plans jumped from 11 percent of prescriptions filled in 2003 to 43 percent in 2014.

Study: Insurers' spending on costly meds soared from 2003-14