Copayment reductions generate greater medication adherence in targeted patients.
A large value-based insurance design program offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina eliminated generic medication copayments and reduced copayments for brand-name medications. Our study showed that the program improved adherence to medications for diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and congestive heart failure. We found that adherence improved for enrollees, ranging from a gain of 3.8 percentage points for patients with diabetes to 1.5 percentage points for those taking calcium-channel blockers, when compared to others whose employers did not offer a similar program. An examination of longer-term adherence and trends in health care spending is still needed to provide a compelling evidence base for value-based insurance design.
Center For Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA. mlm34@duke.edu
Matthew L
ML
Maciejewski
Joel F
JF
Farley
John
J
Parker
Daryl
D
Wansink
D054598:Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance Plans / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017047:Cost Sharing / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D009657:North Carolina; D012189:Retrospective Studies