In a first-of-its-kind study, a cohort of researchers, led by the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, evaluated the effects of state-level insulin out-of-pocket costs across states and payers and over time. The team found that state-level caps on insulin out-of-pocket costs do not significantly increase insulin claims for patients with Type 1 or patients using insulin to manage Type 2 diabetes. Study results could help inform policies aimed at better delivering cost-capped insulin to patients struggling with insulin affordability.
Approximately one-quarter of patients who use insulin to manage diabetes have reported underuse due to the burden of cost, an issue state-mandated caps sought to alleviate. The study, published today in Health Affairs , evaluated the effectiveness with which these caps make insulin available to patients who rely on insulin to manage diabetes. What we found was that these caps do not lead to a meaningful increase in insulin use.
This is due, in part, to the focus of these caps on patients with commercial insurance coverage subject to state-level oversight. The majority of patients subject to the caps were already paying out-of-pocket costs lower than cap amounts even prior to cap implementation." Kelly E.
Anderson, PhD, MPP, assistant professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and study lead author Researchers used a difference-in-differences design to evaluate out-of-pocket costs and ins.