Annual Medicare Expense for Anti-VEGF Injections Tops $4 Billion, Study Finds

A significant rise ($1.5 billion more per year) can be attributed to greater uptake of aflibercept by retina specialists. Regional differences reflect local variation in disease burden.

Age-related Eye Diseases Higher in Prevalence, Incidence Over 15 Years

While the trends reported represent small changes, due to the size of the US Medicare beneficiary population these differences equate to a large number of individuals and considerable economic cost.

Lack of Eye Care Access in US Reflects Socioeconomic Trends

Patients with Medicare in areas that were rural, had lower household incomes or higher unemployment rates did not make significant use of available services.

May 2-3, 2025