Health insurers are covering between 61 percent and 74 percent of the costs of ivermectin, a treatment for parasites in humans and animals, despite guidance from the FDA that it should not be used to treat COVID-19.
The figure comes from research conducted by the University of Michigan that found payers covered between $36 to $39 per ivermectin prescription, based on claims data from 2020 and 2021.
The study's authors said that the coverage seems to contradict the commonplace practice of insurers only covering drugs with a certain level of medical evidence surrounding its efficacy — which ivermectin lacks in relation to treating COVID-19.
"Insurers usually don’t cover ineffective treatments, or at least make patients pay for most of the cost," said Kao-Ping Chua, MD, PhD, a University of Michigan healthcare researcher who led the study. "Our study suggests that they are treating ivermectin prescriptions for COVID-19 differently. In doing so, they are reducing barriers to an ineffective drug that some are using as a substitute for COVID-19 vaccination or evidence-based treatments."
During the week of Aug. 13, 2021, insurers paid $2.4 million for ivermectin. At that level for an entire year, payers would have spent about $130 million, according to the research.
The study's authors proposed that payers require prior authorization for ivermectin use. While it would make it harder for patients requesting ivermectin for its intended use, the authors anticipate the disruption to be marginal.