Tuesday, July 26, 2022 | The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Dear John,
The August issue of Health Affairs will cover spending, payment and more. Pre-order your copy of the issue today to save $10.
Catastrophic Spending On Insulin
The July issue of of Health Affairs is devoted to discussing how to prevent and improve care and outcomes for Type 2 diabetes.
In the July issue, Baylee Bakkila and coauthors examine out-of-pocket spending on insulin and the risk factors that may contribute to catastrophic spending, which is defined as using more than 40 percent of “postsubsistence family income on insulin alone.”
From 2007 to 2018, some insulin products have seen a price increase of over 200 percent. This dramatic trend suggests that without major policy reform, the financial burdens of purchasing insulin will continue to increase.
Bakkila and coauthors find that in 2017 and 2018, “14.1 percent [of insulin users] reached catastrophic spending over the course of one year” and that almost two-thirds of those who experienced catastrophic spending were Medicare beneficiaries.
On the other hand, Medicaid beneficiaries were 61 percent less likely to experience catastrophic spending. From this, the authors believe that various factors, such as different types of insurance coverage, can impact catastrophic spending on insulin.
Bakkila and coauthors recommend that policy makers consider capping monthly out-of-pocket spending on
insulin in a manner that is accessible for Medicaid beneficiaries. Additionally, they suggest putting policies in place that directly regulate the price of insulin.
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Victoria Schoebel and coauthors discuss how the inclusion of mental health counselors (MHCs) and marriage and family therapists (MFTs) as Medicare-eligible providers will not change the scope of coverage, but will increase access to care and lower the long-term cost of care to address the mental health needs of older adults.
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Rozalina McCoy on Modernizing Diabetes Care Quality Measures
Rozalina McCoy from Mayo Clinic joins Health Affairs Editor-in-Chief Alan Weil to discuss what the US is getting from measuring the quality of diabetes care.
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