OBJECTIVES: Given the impact of certain diseases on the budget of the Brazilian Health Ministry, studies that assess and monitor drug incorporation are necessary to determine whether access to drugs has increased and if they are affordable. Our objective is to assess the impact of incorporating rheumatoid arthritis drugs in Brazil in terms of the number of patients treated and costs incurred. METHODS:  Data on drugs dispensed exclusively by the Ministry of Health between 2010 and 2014 were used. Information on drug dispensation was obtained from administrative data through the Authorization for High-Complexity Procedures. Dispensations were analyzed according to class of drugs, region and market share. The number of patients was estimated based on the clinical protocol and therapeutic guidelines for rheumatoid arthritis. RESULTS: Drug treatment for rheumatoid arthritis cost USD 438.7 million. Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DIMARDs) accounted for 99.14% of expenses, and 30.27% of dispensations. The average cost of biological DIMARDs (bDIMARDs) declined by 40% and the number of complete treatments rose by 120%. Of the 40,361 complete treatments, 60% were in the Southeast region and 3% in the North. Golimumab increased its market share from 1.35% (2013) to 11.65% (2014), while adalimumab decreased from 59.62% (2013) to 49.21% (2014). CONCLUSIONS: Incorporating five new bDIMARDs contributed to increasing access to drugs without significantly compromising the Ministry of Health’s budget. Two factors were crucial in obtaining this positive result: use of scientific evidence via health technology assessment studies and nationally centralized purchases.