New 'dashboard' gives consumers a better handle on Medicare drug costs

WASHINGTON — Medicare officials say researchers and the public will now have an easier way to analyze spending on costly prescription drugs.

The online Medicare Drug Spending Dashboard will allow users to compare 80 drugs from thousands of covered medications. Those drugs accounted for about 40 percent of the more than $140 billion Medicare spent on prescription medications in 2014.

KNOW YOUR MEDICATIONS: See the new Medicare Drug Spending Dashboard

The tool includes drugs administered in doctor's offices as well as medications provided through Part D, which is Medicare's main prescription coverage program.

Officials said this week that the online tool will include the top 15 drugs in terms of total spending for each part of Medicare, drugs with a high per-patient cost and drugs with high cost increases.