A new study led by researchers at the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute finds that reducing out-of-pocket expenses for diabetes patients, especially those with low incomes, could be a step toward improving health outcomes. .
The study, “Acute Diabetes Complications Following Changes in Value-Based Drug Benefits,” was published in the Feb. 9 edition of the National Institutes of Health. JAMA Health Forum,
Treatment with antidiabetic agents, antihypertensives, and lipid-lowering drugs is essential to reduce acute, preventable diabetic complications, including bacterial infections, neurovascular events, acute coronary disease, and diabetic ketoacidosis. However, their use may be less than optimal due to the high out-of-pocket costs of these medications.
To help reduce these cost barriers, some employers have added preventive drug lists (PDL) to their insurance plan offerings. The PDL allows enrollees to pay less out-of-pocket for a range of high-priced preventive medications, including diabetes drugs. While available evidence has shown that PDLs are associated with increased preventive medication prescriptions among patients with diabetes living in low-income neighborhoods, the impact on health outcomes is unclear.
Employers are increasingly adopting PDL to improve the health of their employees. Despite the increasing prevalence of PDL, their impact on health is still unclear. Our study is the first to suggest that PDL may improve health outcomes in people with diabetes.”
Frank Whurm, lead author, is visiting professor of population medicine at Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and professor of medicine at Duke University.
Using a population of national commercial health plan members with diabetes aged 12 to 64, the team analyzed the incidence of acute, preventable diabetes complications among members whose employers had adopted the PDL, compared with members who did not. whose employers had not adopted PDL. The team found that after switching to a plan including PDL, members increased their use of antidiabetic medications, while days of acute, preventable diabetes complications decreased by 8.4% in the overall PDL group. There was a 10.2% reduction in preventable days of diabetes-related complications in PDL members from low-income areas compared to the control group.
“We were pleased to find that a relatively straightforward employer intervention was associated with better health outcomes among people with diabetes, especially low-income people,” said senior author Denise Ross-Degnan, MD, associate professor of population medicine at Harvard Medical School. “Those who may struggle with the cost.” At Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute. He added, “Future studies should determine whether PDL may also benefit patients with other chronic diseases who are also at risk for adherence-related complications.”
Source:
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute
Journal Reference:
Wharam, JF, and others, (2024). Acute diabetes complications following changes in value-based drug benefits. JAMA Health Forum, doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.5309.