[ad_1]
Despite FDA approval of growth hormone treatment for children
small idiopathic size (ISS), the average financial burden for patients and
their families has increased over time, according to the findings of
researchers from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the
Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (LDI) of the University of
Pennsylvania. The results were presented at ENDO 2019 in New York.
Orleans, LA.
The results of the study indicate that increased patient participation in costs and
coverage restrictions are responsible for greater financial burden
to families and not necessarily to insurance companies, who have
seen the growth hormone costs decreased per patient over the same period of time
time.
Growth hormone has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.
(FDA) for the treatment of ISS in 2003. This has increased the potential for
availability of growth hormone for one in every 3,500 growing children
hormone decificienty at the shortest 1.2 percent of the US population.
However, over the past decade, insurance companies have instituted
progressive restrictions of growth hormone coverage, including
adopt form preference and stricter policies specific to the plan
coverage criteria, as well as deny any growth hormone coverage
for ISS treatment.
"Because growth hormone is a very expensive drug that requires
years of daily injections, cost control efforts of the insurance
Providers have increasingly encroached on the patient and its erosion
decision-making, autonomy and clinical care, "said Adda Grimberg, MD, a
Pediatric Endocrinologist and Scientific Director of the Growth Center
CHOP, professor of pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine,
University of Pennsylvania and lead author of the study. "C & # 39; was
important for us to understand to what extent these restrictions by
Insurance companies had an impact on families and the use of growth hormones
global."
From the administrative claims data between 2001 and 2016, the study
showed that the number of prescriptions for growth hormone increased from 5.1
patients per 10,000 beneficiaries in 2001 to 14.6 per 10,000 in 2016,
although no dramatic change was observed in 2003 when growth hormone
received FDA approval for ISS. While total expenditure on growth hormone
per patient has decreased, as has the estimated amount of Medicare, the
average payments, deductibles and total financial burden for the patient
families grew by 234% in nominal terms and by 161% in real terms
dollars. Insurance data also showed an increase in the frequency of
switching between growth hormone brands.
"Because different brands of growth hormones use different injection methods.
administration devices, the brand change poses an additional family of patients
burden: stress and anxiety related to change and potential for
interruptions of treatment, conversion to the new device or
devices and the potential for dosing errors, "said Grimberg. "While
progressive coverage restrictions and forms lowered the total
treatment with growth hormone, these savings have been reduced to nothing.
not transmitted to patients. "
Source link
