Annual prescription expenditures were lower for African American and Hispanic patients with breast cancer as compared to White patients, according to findings presented at AMCP 2023.

“One of the most common cancers in the United States is breast cancer with an annual incidence of more than 250,000,” researchers said. “This study aimed to evaluate the prescription expenditure as one of the main components of health care expenditure among minority patients diagnosed with [breast cancer] in the US in comparison with White patients.”

The observational, cross-sectional study involved patients aged at least 18 years. Researchers used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey spanning 2014 to 2019 to compare annual prescription medication costs, all inflated to 2019 values. 

There were 2197 patients included in the study (weighted frequency = 4,343,978; SE = 145,022), who predominantly were White (83.26%) and had at least a high school diploma (43.36%). 

Annual prescription expenditures were slightly higher for White patients, according to the findings. White patients experienced annual expenditures of $3159 (95% CI = $2716 to $3601), compared to $2913 (95% CI = $2158 to $3668) among African American patients and $2026 (95% CI = $1533 to $2519) among Hispanic patients. Researchers confirmed the finding after adjusting their Poisson regression model for covariates.

African American and Hispanic patients had 25% and 51% lower annual prescription expenditures, respectively, as compared to White patients (P < .001). Researchers also found Hispanic patients had 32% lower expenditures compared to African American patients (P < .001).

“Further studies are necessary to evaluate the factors that result in lower prescription expenditure and if it will affect the disease outcomes,” researchers advised.

Reference:
Sansgiry S, Alvarez S, Zakeri M. Lower prescription expenditure among minorities diagnosed with breast cancer: An analysis of a nationally representative data analyses. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2023;29(10-a suppl):S1-S137. https://www.jmcp.org/pb-assets/Poster%20Abstract%20Supplements/AMCP2023_PosterAbstractSupplement_0317-1679318682267.pdf