During the 1980s, prospective utilization review programs deployed by US health plans focused on screening the appropriateness of hospital admissions and high-cost procedures. As prescription drug coverage became more widespread and spending on pharmaceuticals increased, commercial and public insurers expanded utilization management to include medication prior authorization, quantity and dosage limits, and step therapy requirements. Applied in concert with restricted formularies and tiered patient cost sharing, these measures were initially directed during the 1990s and early 2000s at a narrow set of newer, high-cost drugs that insurers judged to offer limited benefit or higher risk over existing, less expensive alternatives.