TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessment of Hypothetical Out-of-Pocket Costs of Guideline-Recommended Medications for the Treatment of Older Adults With Multiple Chronic Conditions, 2009 and 2019
AU - Zhou, Tianna
AU - Liu, Patrick
AU - Dhruva, Sanket S.
AU - Shah, Nilay D.
AU - Ramachandran, Reshma
AU - Berg, Karina M.
AU - Ross, Joseph S.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 American Medical Association.
PY - 2022/2
Y1 - 2022/2
N2 - Importance: Most adults 65 years or older have multiple chronic conditions. Managing these conditions with prescription drugs can be costly, particularly for older adults with limited incomes. Objective: To estimate hypothetical out-of-pocket costs associated with guideline-recommended outpatient medications for the initial treatment of 8 common chronic diseases among older adults with Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs). Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cross-sectional study used 2009 and 2019 Medicare prescription drug plan formulary files to estimate annual out-of-pocket costs among hypothetical patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage or stand-alone Medicare Part D plans. A total of 3599 PDPs in 2009 and 3618 PDPs in 2019 were included after inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Costs associated with guideline-recommended medications for 8 of the most common chronic diseases (atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes), alone and in 2 clusters of commonly comorbid conditions, were examined. Main Outcomes and Measures: Annual out-of-pocket costs for each chronic condition, inflation adjusted to 2019 dollars. Results: Among 3599 Medicare PDPs in 2009, 1998 were Medicare Advantage plans and 1601 were stand-alone plans; among 3618 Medicare PDPs in 2019, 2719 were Medicare Advantage plans and 899 were stand-alone plans. For an older adult enrolled in any Medicare PDP in 2019, the median annual out-of-pocket costs for individual conditions varied, from a minimum of 32 (IQR, 6-48) for guideline-recommended management of osteoporosis (a decrease from 128 [IQR, 102-183] in 2009) to a maximum of 1579 (IQR, 1524-2229) for guideline-recommended management of atrial fibrillation (an increase from 91 [IQR, 73-124] in 2009). For an older adult with a cluster of 5 commonly comorbid conditions (COPD, hypertension, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes) enrolled in any PDP, the median out-of-pocket cost in 2019 was 1999 (IQR, 1630-2564), a 12% decrease from 2284 (IQR, 1920-3107) in 2009. For an older adult with all 8 chronic conditions (atrial fibrillation, COPD, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, heart failure, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis) enrolled in any PDP, the median out-of-pocket cost in 2019 was 3630 (IQR, 3234-5197), a 41% increase from 2571 (IQR, 2185-3719) in 2009. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, out-of-pocket costs for guideline-recommended outpatient medications for the initial treatment of 8 common chronic diseases varied by condition. Although costs generally decreased between 2009 and 2019, particularly with regard to conditions for which generic drugs were available, out-of-pocket costs remained high and may have presented a substantial financial burden for Medicare beneficiaries, especially older adults with conditions for which brand-name drugs were guideline recommended.
AB - Importance: Most adults 65 years or older have multiple chronic conditions. Managing these conditions with prescription drugs can be costly, particularly for older adults with limited incomes. Objective: To estimate hypothetical out-of-pocket costs associated with guideline-recommended outpatient medications for the initial treatment of 8 common chronic diseases among older adults with Medicare prescription drug plans (PDPs). Design, Setting, and Participants: This retrospective cross-sectional study used 2009 and 2019 Medicare prescription drug plan formulary files to estimate annual out-of-pocket costs among hypothetical patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage or stand-alone Medicare Part D plans. A total of 3599 PDPs in 2009 and 3618 PDPs in 2019 were included after inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Costs associated with guideline-recommended medications for 8 of the most common chronic diseases (atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD], heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes), alone and in 2 clusters of commonly comorbid conditions, were examined. Main Outcomes and Measures: Annual out-of-pocket costs for each chronic condition, inflation adjusted to 2019 dollars. Results: Among 3599 Medicare PDPs in 2009, 1998 were Medicare Advantage plans and 1601 were stand-alone plans; among 3618 Medicare PDPs in 2019, 2719 were Medicare Advantage plans and 899 were stand-alone plans. For an older adult enrolled in any Medicare PDP in 2019, the median annual out-of-pocket costs for individual conditions varied, from a minimum of 32 (IQR, 6-48) for guideline-recommended management of osteoporosis (a decrease from 128 [IQR, 102-183] in 2009) to a maximum of 1579 (IQR, 1524-2229) for guideline-recommended management of atrial fibrillation (an increase from 91 [IQR, 73-124] in 2009). For an older adult with a cluster of 5 commonly comorbid conditions (COPD, hypertension, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes) enrolled in any PDP, the median out-of-pocket cost in 2019 was 1999 (IQR, 1630-2564), a 12% decrease from 2284 (IQR, 1920-3107) in 2009. For an older adult with all 8 chronic conditions (atrial fibrillation, COPD, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, heart failure, hypertension, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis) enrolled in any PDP, the median out-of-pocket cost in 2019 was 3630 (IQR, 3234-5197), a 41% increase from 2571 (IQR, 2185-3719) in 2009. Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, out-of-pocket costs for guideline-recommended outpatient medications for the initial treatment of 8 common chronic diseases varied by condition. Although costs generally decreased between 2009 and 2019, particularly with regard to conditions for which generic drugs were available, out-of-pocket costs remained high and may have presented a substantial financial burden for Medicare beneficiaries, especially older adults with conditions for which brand-name drugs were guideline recommended.
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U2 - 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.7457
DO - 10.1001/jamainternmed.2021.7457
M3 - Article
C2 - 34982097
AN - SCOPUS:85124437503
SN - 2168-6106
VL - 182
SP - 185
EP - 195
JO - JAMA internal medicine
JF - JAMA internal medicine
IS - 2
ER -