Out-of-Pocket Spending Averages $2,414 Per Year for T1DM Costs

TUESDAY, June 2, 2020 (HealthDay News) — For privately insured patients with type 1 diabetes, mean out-of-pocket spending is $2,414 per year, according to a research letter published online June 1 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, and colleagues estimated out-of-pocket spending for insulin and other health care services for privately insured patients with type 1 diabetes. Data were included for 65,192 patients, including 7,842 children (12 percent); 14,680 individuals were enrolled in high-deductible health plans.

Of the participants, 56.8 percent used insulin pumps, continuous glucose monitors, or both. The researchers found that the mean annual out-of-pocket spending was lower for insulin than for diabetes-related supplies ($435 versus $490). The mean overall annual out-of-pocket spending was $2,414; this spending exceeded $5,000 for 8 percent of patients. Eighteen percent of overall out-of-pocket spending was accounted for by insulin. There was variation in mean annual out-of-pocket spending for diabetes-related supplies among patients who used insulin pumps only, continuous glucose monitors only, both, or neither ($562, $472, $1,037, and $79, respectively). Children had higher use of diabetes technologies and higher out-of-pocket spending for diabetes-related supplies than adults. Higher out-of-pocket spending was seen in each category for patients enrolled in high-deductible health plans versus other plans.

“Findings suggest that substantial out-of-pocket burden may remain for patients with type 1 diabetes even if insulin cost-sharing is limited,” the authors write.

One author disclosed financial ties to the technology industry.

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