Staff Spotlight: Kao-Ping Chua

Using national insurance claims data, we found that private insurance and Medicare Advantage plans paid 61-74% of the cost of ivermectin prescriptions for COVID-19, or about $36 to $36 per prescription. As a result of this coverage, we estimate that U.S. private and Medicare plans may have paid $2.5 million for ivermectin prescriptions for COVID-19 in the week of August 13, 2021 alone. To decrease this wasteful spending, insurers could require prior authorization for ivermectin during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D.

Forbes Magazine recently highlighted Dr. Chua’s study in an article entitled Ivermectin For Covid-19 Cost Medicare, U.S. Insurers Nearly $2.5 Million A Week. The article can be found at the following link.