Cost-effectiveness of providing full drug coverage to increase medication adherence in post-myocardial infarction Medicare beneficiaries.
BACKGROUND
Effective therapies for the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease-related events are significantly underused, and attempts to improve adherence have often yielded disappointing results. Elimination of patient out-of-pocket costs may be an effective strategy to enhance medication use. We sought to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of providing full coverage for aspirin, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, and statins (combination pharmacotherapy) to individuals enrolled in the Medicare drug benefit program after acute myocardial infarction.


RESULTS
We created a Markov cost-effectiveness model to estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness of providing Medicare beneficiaries with full coverage for combination pharmacotherapy compared with current coverage under the Medicare Part D program. Our analysis was conducted from the societal perspective and considered a lifetime time horizon. In a sensitivity analysis, we repeated our analysis from the perspective of Medicare. In the model, post-myocardial infarction Medicare beneficiaries who received usual prescription drug coverage under the Part D program lived an average of 8.21 quality-adjusted life-years after their initial event, incurring coronary heart disease-related medical costs of $114,000. Those who received prescription drug coverage without deductibles or copayments lived an average of 8.56 quality-adjusted life-years and incurred $111,600 in coronary heart disease-related costs. Compared with current prescription drug coverage, full coverage for post-myocardial infarction secondary prevention therapies would result in greater functional life expectancy (0.35 quality-adjusted life-year) and less resource use ($2500). From the perspective of Medicare, full drug coverage was highly cost-effective ($7182/quality-adjusted life-year) but not cost saving.


CONCLUSIONS
Our analysis suggests that providing full coverage for combination therapy to post-myocardial infarction Medicare beneficiaries would save both lives and money from the societal perspective.
Choudhry
Niteesh K
NK
Division of Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02120, USA. nchoudhry@partners.org
Patrick
Amanda R
AR
Antman
Elliott M
EM
Avorn
Jerry
J
Shrank
William H
WH
D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001241:Aspirin / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000191:economics / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D017046:Cost Savings; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008390:Markov Chains; D054524:Medicare Part D / Q000191:economics*; D018803:Models, Economic; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000191:economics; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014481:United States
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D010975:Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors; D001241:Aspirin