Underutilization of intravesical chemotherapy and immunotherapy for high grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer in California between 2006-2018: Effect of race, age and socioeconomic status on treatment disparities.

OBJECTIVE: Among patients diagnosed with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC), those with high risk disease have the greatest risk of recurrence and disease progression. The underutilization of intravesical immunotherapy with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) has been a longstanding concern in clinical practice. This study aimed to determine the disparities present in receipt of adjuvant intravesical chemotherapy and immunotherapy in treatment of patients with high grade NMIBC following initial transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TURBT). METHODS: The California Cancer Registry data was used to identify 19,237 patients diagnosed with high grade NMIBC who underwent TURBT. Treatment variables include re-TURBT, re-TURBT and intravesical chemotherapy (IVC) and/or BCG. Independent variables include age, sex, race/ethnicity, neighborhood socioeconomic status (nSES), primary insurance payer and marital status at diagnosis. Multiple logistic regression and multinomial regression models were used to examine variation in the treatments received following TURBT. RESULTS: The proportion of patients receiving TURBT followed by BCG was similar across all racial and ethnic groups (28%-32%). BCG therapy was higher in patients belonging to the highest nSES quintile (37% for highest vs. 23%-26% for the 2 lowest quintiles). In multiple variable analyses, receipt of any intravesical therapy (IVT) was influenced by nSES, age, marital status, race/ethnicity, and insurance type. Patients in the lowest nSES quintile had a 45% less likelihood of receiving IVT compared to the highest nSES group (OR [95%CI]: 0.55[0.49, 0.61]). Race/ethnicity differences in receipt of any adjuvant therapy were noted in the middle to lowest nSES quintile for Hispanic and Asian/Pacific Islander patients when compared to non-Hispanic White patients. When comparing variation in treatment by insurance type at diagnosis, those with Medicare or other insurance were 24% and 30% less likely to receive BCG after TURBT compared to those with private insurance, (OR [95%CI]: 0.76 [0.70, 0.82] and 0.70[0.62, 0.79]) respectively. CONCLUSION: In patients with a diagnosis of high risk NMIBC, disparities in utilization of BCG are seen based on SES, age, and insurance type.

Incremental Health Care Burden of Treatment-Resistant Depression Among Commercial, Medicaid, and Medicare Payers.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared health care use and costs among patients with treatment-resistant versus treatment-responsive depression across Medicaid, Medicare, and commercial payers. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted by using Truven Health Analytics' commercial (2006-2017; N=111,544), Medicaid (2007-2017; N=24,036), and Medicare supplemental (2006-2017; N=8,889) claims databases. Participants were adults with major depressive disorder who had received one or more antidepressant treatments. Treatment resistance was defined as failure of two or more antidepressant treatments of adequate dose and duration. Annual use (hospitalizations and outpatient and emergency department [ED] visits) and costs were compared across patients by treatment-resistant status in each payer population. Incremental burden of treatment-resistant depression was estimated with regression analyses. Monthly changes in costs during 1-year follow-up were assessed to understand differential cost trends by treatment-resistant status. RESULTS: In the three payer populations, patients with treatment-resistant depression incurred higher health care utilization than those with treatment-responsive depression (hospitalization, odds ratios [ORs]=1.32-1.76; ED visits, ORs=1.38-1.45; outpatient visits, incident rate ratio=1.29-1.54; p<0.001 for all). Compared with those with treatment-responsive depression, those with treatment resistance incurred higher annual costs (from $4,093 to $8,054 higher; p<0.001). Patients with treatment-resistant depression had higher costs at baseline compared with patients with treatment-responsive depression and incurred higher costs each month throughout follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment-resistant depression imposes a significant health care burden on insurers. Treatment-resistant depression may exist and affect health care burden before a patient is identified as having treatment-resistant depression. Findings underscore the need for effective and timely treatment of treatment-resistant depression.

An empirical investigation of time-varying cost-effectiveness across the product life cycle.

Cost-effectiveness is traditionally treated as a static estimate driven by clinical trial efficacy and drug price at launch. Prior studies suggest that cost-effectiveness varies over the drug's lifetime. We examined the impact of "learning by doing," one of the least studied drivers of changes in cost-effectiveness across the product life cycle. We combined time-series trends in effectiveness over time by cancer regimen using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database. We estimated the time-varying effects of treatments in colorectal and pancreatic cancer over their life cycle, including FOLFOX (leucovorin, 5-fluorouracil, and oxaliplatin) and gemcitabine, on survival of patients. Mean prices over time by strength and dosage form were calculated using historical wholesale acquisition costs. We found consistent downward trends in the mortality hazard ratios, which suggest that effectiveness improves over time. In the case of first-line FOLFOX for colorectal cancer, the implied incremental cost-effectiveness ratio based on the observational data fell from $610,000 per life year gained in 2004 to $27,000 per life year gained in 2011. Cost-effectiveness estimated at launch is unlikely to be representative of cost-effectiveness over the drug's lifetime. In the drugs studied, the impact of time-varying clinical effectiveness dominated the impact of changing prices overtime.

Undertreatment of osteoporosis and the role of gastrointestinal events among elderly osteoporotic women with Medicare Part D drug coverage.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the rate of osteoporosis (OP) undertreatment and the association between gastrointestinal (GI) events and OP treatment initiation among elderly osteoporotic women with Medicare Part D drug coverage. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study utilized a 20% random sample of Medicare beneficiaries. Included were women ≥66 years old with Medicare Part D drug coverage, newly diagnosed with OP in 2007-2008 (first diagnosis date as the index date), and with no prior OP treatment. GI event was defined as a diagnosis or procedure for a GI condition between OP diagnosis and treatment initiation or at the end of a 12-month follow-up, whichever occurred first. OP treatment initiation was defined as the use of any bisphosphonate (BIS) or non-BIS within 1 year postindex. Logistic regression, adjusted for patient characteristics, was used to model the association between 1) GI events and OP treatment initiation (treated versus nontreated); and 2) GI events and type of initial therapy (BIS versus non-BIS) among treated patients only. RESULTS: A total of 126,188 women met the inclusion criteria: 72.1% did not receive OP medication within 1 year of diagnosis and 27.9% had GI events. Patients with a GI event were 75.7% less likely to start OP treatment (odds ratio [OR]=0.243; P<0.001); among treated patients, patients with a GI event had 11.3% lower odds of starting with BIS versus non-BIS (OR=0.887; P<0.001). CONCLUSION: Among elderly women newly diagnosed with OP, only 28% initiated OP treatment. GI events were associated with a higher likelihood of not being treated and, among treated patients, a lower likelihood of being treated with BIS versus non-BIS.

Evaluating the economic burden of psoriasis in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis has significant economic impact on patients. However, its total economic burden has not been fully quantified. OBJECTIVES: To assess the annual economic burden of psoriasis in the United States. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted to obtain estimates of the components of the economic burden of psoriasis. Prevalence estimates were used to estimate the 2013 psoriasis population. Incremental medical costs were calculated based on studies that compared psoriasis patients and controls. Productivity loss was estimated using measures of presenteeism, absenteeism, and unemployment. Reductions in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were calculated from survey responses. RESULTS: The prevalence of psoriasis in the US was estimated to be 7.4 million in 2013. Comparatively, psoriasis patients incurred incremental medical costs of $2284, experienced a $2203 reduction in HRQOL, and a $1935 reduction in productivity. The total burden of psoriasis was estimated as $35.2 billion, with $12.2 billion in incremental medical costs (35%), $11.8 billion from reduced HRQOL (34%), and $11.2 billion from productivity losses (32%). LIMITATIONS: This study is constrained by the scope and populations of the existing literature. CONCLUSIONS: The economic burden of psoriasis in the US is significant, with a majority of it coming from indirect costs.

Patient Outcomes and Cost Effects of Medicaid Formulary Restrictions on Antidepressants.

Many state Medicaid programs have implemented policies designed to reduce spending on prescription drugs by restricting access to branded products. For patients with major depressive disorder, formulary restrictions could severely limit access to antidepressant therapies and disrupt care. We linked data on patient outcomes and spending from 24 state Medicaid programs to information on formulary restrictions from 2001 to 2008. Outcomes included frequency of MDD-related hospitalizations and ER visits per patient and total healthcare spending. We estimated the effect of the policies on patient outcomes and spending using a difference-and-difference approach. We found that restricting access to antidepressants increased the probability of an MDD-related hospitalization by 1.7 percentage points (16.6%). Furthermore, we found no evidence that these restrictions resulted in any net savings for Medicaid.