Estimation Methods May Not Be Reliable for Projecting Type 2 Diabetes Treatment Costs

An examination of two different cost estimation methods revealed that health care costs associated with type 2 diabetes varied widely depending on which system was used, suggesting that these tools are unreliable for payers, according to a presentation at the AMCP Nexus 2016 meeting.

“Health care costs attributed to type 2 diabetes varied greatly depending on the estimation method selected,” Bingcao Wu, MS, associate director at HealthCore Inc, and colleagues wrote in a study abstract. “Payers should pay particular attention to the costing methodology used, as they may impact the interpretation and application of the findings.”

The researchers conducted a retrospective, cross-sectional study examining two different cost estimation methods, a matched cohort method and a disease-attributable method. They divided study patients with type 2 diabetes who were diagnosed in 2007 and were continuously enrolled in the HealthCore Integrated Research Database for 2 years. Study participants were matched with nondiabetic patients to compare costs. The researchers examined all-cause type 2 diabetes-related costs, including costs paid by plans and by patients.

Study results showed that annual type 2 diabetes costs estimated using the matched-cohort method ranged from $6528 to $6969. However, when the researchers applied the disease attributable estimation method, costs were significantly lower, ranging from $2847 to $3651.

The researchers noted that while annual type 2 diabetes costs have remained relatively stable over the years, costs are beginning to increase due to the high price of diabetes outpatient visits and prescriptions.

Mr Wu and colleagues concluded that the varied results warrant caution when applying cost estimation methods for type 2 diabetes. 

This research was supported by Novo Nordisk Inc. —David Costill