title: Inadequate health insurance coverage: a major factor in premature discontinuation of subcutaneous immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis.
abstract: We conducted a study of 155 patients with allergic rhinitis who prematurely discontinued subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy to determine the reasons for their discontinuation. The most commonly cited factor, which was cited by 62 patients (40.0%), was the issue of cost-specifically, inadequate or nonexistent insurance coverage. Studies have shown that subcutaneous allergen immunotherapy is more cost-effective than pharmacologic treatment for patients with allergic rhinitis. Therefore, improved insurance coverage for this treatment of proven efficacy would not only improve quality of life, it would also be economically beneficial to the healthcare system in general.
authors.affiliation: Allergy & Asthma Clinical Center, 8860 Columbia 100 Pkwy., Suite 210, Columbia, MD 21045, USA.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vaswani
authors.forename: Yi-Chun Carol
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Parikh
authors.forename: Surender
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vaswani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003888:Desensitization, Immunologic / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019458:Insurance Coverage / Q000191:economics*; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D012221:Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy; D006255:Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal / Q000191:economics* / Q000628:therapy