MS Care Costs Rose 60 Percent in 7 Years, According To Study

Patricia Silva, PhD avatar

by Patricia Silva, PhD |

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MS Care Costs

MS Care CostsThe main costs of care for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients continue to be driven predominantly by common MS “sequelae” —Ā a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease or injury —Ā according to a recent study from theĀ BMC Health Services Research. However, in spite of cost drivers remaining steady, the expenses for MS cost of care have increased about 60% from 2006 to 2011.

The research led byĀ Cathryn A. Carroll, Kathleen A. Fairman and Maureen J. Lage suggested that even though MS treatment costs are increasing, the proportion of MS charges due to disease-modifying drugs (DMDs)Ā in 2011 is similar to that reported in 2004.Ā The study performed a pharmacoeconomic analysis Ā in order to provide an updateĀ about MS-related costs and cost drivers including DMDs.

The research team analyzed the insurance data of MS patients diagnosed more than a year prior, between the years of 2006 and 2011. To understand the MS-related charges, they studied theĀ medical claims with MS diagnosis, as well as the medical or pharmacy claims for DMDs. All values were adjusted toĀ 2011 using the medical care component of the consumer price index (CPI).

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The patients were divided into subgroups according to the usage ofĀ DMDs (interferon [IFN] beta-1a intramuscular or subcutaneous, IFN beta-1b, glatiramer, natalizumab) and tested differently withĀ bivariate statistics. The main conclusion of the analysis noted an increase of 60% in theĀ CPI-adjusted MS charges, between 2006 and 2011.Ā Among patients treated with a single DMDs in 2011, inpatient care comprised 6% of charges, outpatient care accounted for 19%, and DMDs were 75%.

These results confirm what previous studies already concluded about the significance of key disease sequelae as cost drivers. On the other hand, in 2004, DMDs represented 73% of the total costs of care, while the recent studiesĀ wereĀ limited to incident disease or treatment, or excluded DMDs from cost estimates.