Effects of ACA Expansion of Dependent Coverage on Hospital-Based Care of Young Adults With Early Psychosis

Healthcare resource utilization and costs before and after long-acting injectable antipsychotic initiation in commercially insured young adults with schizophrenia

BACKGROUND

Long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotics use is associated with improved adherence which can reduce the rate of relapse, hospitalization, and associated costs in patients with schizophrenia. Young adults could be at higher risk of poor adherence, hence use of LAI in this population may offer a benefit but the evidence is limited. This study aimed to compare clinical and economic outcomes before and after the initiation of LAI antipsychotics in commercially insured young adults (18-35 years of age) with schizophrenia.

METHODS

A retrospective claims data study was conducted using the data from the IBM MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters (CCAE) Database. Patients with a continuous enrollment of at least 1-year before and 1-year after the first observed schizophrenia diagnosis (index date) and with the use of ≥1 typical or atypical LAI antipsychotic during the post-index follow-up period were included. A pre-post analysis was conducted to compare relapse rates, healthcare resource utilization, and costs before (from index date to LAI initiation) and after LAI initiation (to end of follow up).

RESULTS

A total of 2222 patients who initiated LAIs after an index schizophrenia diagnosis were identified. The per patient per month (PPPM) composite relapse event rate (0.109 pre-LAI to 0.073 post-LAI) and hospitalization rate (0.091 to 0.058), all-cause inpatient visits (0.231 to 0.119), and length of stay (2.694 to 1.092 days) significantly decreased from before LAI initiation to after LAI initiation with similar trends seen for mental health and schizophrenia-related measures (all significant; P < 0.0001). All-cause total costs ($4898 to $3078 PPPM) were also decreased after LAI initiation, with similar trends seen for mental health and schizophrenia-related costs (all significant; P < 0.0001). Although medication costs were higher post-LAI period ($311 to $542 PPPM), the cost increase was substantially offset by the decreased costs associated with total healthcare costs.

CONCLUSIONS

Treatment with LAI antipsychotics was associated with a decrease in relapse event rate, healthcare resource utilization, and costs after LAI initiation compared to before LAI initiation in commercially insured young adults with schizophrenia. Treatment with LAIs in young adults with schizophrenia is potentially associated with significant cost savings to commercial payers.

Real-world analysis of insurance churn among young adults with schizophrenia using the Colorado All-Payer Claims Database

BACKGROUND: Most patients with schizophrenia are diagnosed in their early twenties and often have commercial insurance at diagnosis. These young adults can experience changes in insurance coverage, that is, "churn," which can lead to disruptions in care. OBJECTIVE: To examine the frequency, speed, and type of insurance churn events in a young adult schizophrenia population with commercial insurance coverage at diagnosis. METHODS: The Colorado All-Payer Claims Database, containing insurance claims data from commercial and public insurers for Colorado residents, was used for the study. Eligible patients were required to have at least 1 inpatient or 2 outpatient claims for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, be of age 18-34 years at index, have previous insurance coverage for 12 consecutive months, and have commercial insurance at diagnosis. These patients were 1:5 propensity score matched (PSM) with nonschizophrenia members. Percentages of members on different insurance types were calculated monthly to assess churn events. Cohorts were compared using descriptive statistics, Cox proportional hazards, and generalized estimating equation models. RESULTS: The matched schizophrenia and nonschizophrenia cohorts comprised 501 and 2,510 members, respectively. Before PSM, cohorts were imbalanced (schizophrenia cohort had a younger median age and higher proportion of males). After matching, the cohorts were similar in terms of the matched baseline characteristics. Previous mental health disorders were more common in the schizophrenia cohort (75%) than in the nonschizophrenia cohort (26%). The proportion of members with at least 1 churn event for the schizophrenia and nonschizophrenia cohorts, respectively, were 53.8% vs 36.5% after 12 months and 84.6% vs 69.2% after 48 months. Time to first churn event was significantly shorter in the schizophrenia cohort (16 months) than the nonschizophrenia cohort (23 months; P < 0.001). Schizophrenia cohort members had 64.1 and 56.8 churn events per 1,000 members per month vs 43.0 (P ≤ 0.001) and 42.8 (P = 0.011) churn events for nonschizophrenia cohort members in the first and second 6-month periods, respectively. Proportions of members in the schizophrenia and nonschizophrenia cohorts on public insurance, respectively, were 22.9% vs 6.9% after 12 months and 52.4% and 10.7% after 48 months. In the schizophrenia cohort, the most common churn event type was from commercial to public insurance rather than to a different commercial insurance; notably, 41% of members were still on a commercial plan 4 years after diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Young adults with schizophrenia experienced churn events more rapidly and more frequently than those without schizophrenia for the first 4 years studied after the index date. These disruptions may be associated with reduced access to care and treatment gaps in this vulnerable patient population. DISCLOSURES: This research was sponsored by Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC. Pesa, Benson, and Patel are employees of Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC, and are stockholders of Johnson & Johnson. Potluri, Rotter, and Papademetriou are employees of SmartAnalyst Inc, and their work on this study was funded by Janssen Pharmaceuticals. A version of this study was presented as a poster at the Psych Congress 2020 Virtual Experience, September 10-13, 2020.

Insurance Status and Continuity for Young Adults With First-Episode Psychosis

OBJECTIVE

Insurance status and continuity may affect access to and quality of care. The authors characterized patterns of and changes in insurance status over 1 year among people with first-episode psychosis (FEP), comparing insurance patterns with adults of similar age in the general population.

METHODS

Longitudinal data on insurance status and predictors of insurance status among adults with FEP were obtained from RAISE-ETP (Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode-Early Treatment Program) study participants with complete 1-year data (N=288). The frequencies of insurance status and transitions are presented. Bivariate comparisons were used to assess the impact of the comprehensive coordinated care intervention in RAISE-ETP on insurance changes. These data were compared with contemporaneous longitudinal data in the 2011 Medical Expenditures Panel Study.

RESULTS

The RAISE-ETP experimental intervention did not significantly change insurance status. At baseline, levels of uninsurance (47%) and public insurance (31%) were higher among RAISE-ETP participants than among a similar age group in the general public (29% and 13%, respectively). Insurance transitions were common among people with FEP, although 79% of those with public insurance at baseline also had public insurance at 1 year. Of studied RAISE-ETP participants, 60% had a period of uninsurance during the year studied.

CONCLUSIONS

Compared with a national sample, people with FEP were more likely to use public insurance but still had high persistence of 12-month uninsurance. That over half of the RAISE-ETP participants had a period of uninsurance suggests that more research is needed on whether these periods affect treatment continuity and medication adherence.

Association of Follow-Up After an Emergency Department Visit for Mental Illness with Utilization Based Outcomes

Follow-up within 30 days of an emergency department (ED) visit for mental illness is a new and widely-used quality measure. However, no empirical evidence validates associations between follow-up and subsequent utilization based outcomes. Using Massachusetts all payer claims data, we identified insured individuals with an ED visit for mental illness. Multivariate regression analysis estimated associations between follow-up within 30 days after an ED visit for mental illness with costs, hospitalizations, and additional ED visits in 180 days following the index visit. 63,814 index ED visits were included (56.5% female, mean [SD] age 38.0 [12.1] years, 48% Medicaid covered). 31% of index ED principal diagnoses were for major depressive disorder, 3% schizophrenia, 5% bipolar disorder, 34% anxiety disorder, 0.6% post-traumatic stress disorder, 8% other psychoses, and 19% other mental illness diagnoses. Only 33% of patients had a follow-up visit for mental illness within 30 days. Adjusted regression analyses show timely follow-up is associated with increased costs in the 180 days after (average marginal effect = $1622; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1459, 1786), an increased probability of inpatient hospitalization (2.7 percentage points; 95% CI 0.021, 0.032), and a small reduction in the probability of at least one additional ED visit (- 1.7 percentage points; 95% CI - 0.026 to 0.009). Overall follow-up rates are low; follow-up within 30 days of an ED visit for mental illness is associated with increased costs and increased probability of hospitalization in the follow-up period. It is not known whether increased rates of utilization improve patient outcomes, potentially by receiving appropriate more intensive care.

Economic burden to commercial payers of young adults with schizophrenia in Colorado

AIMS

The primary objective was to examine direct costs and health resource utilization (HRU) among commercially insured young adults with schizophrenia (SCZ) in Colorado.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Colorado All-Payer Claims Database, covering approximately 76% of the insured Colorado population was used. Members aged 18-34, with and without SCZ, having commercial insurance were included. All-cause, mental health (MH) related and non-MH related per patient per month (PPPM) costs and per hundred patients per month (PHPPM) HRU were compared between an SCZ cohort and a propensity score matched non-SCZ cohort before and after index date up to 48 months.

RESULTS

Five hundred and one patients with SCZ and 2,510 matched individuals without SCZ were included. HRU and costs were higher for SCZ patients both pre- and post-index date. Pre-index, there were 32.3 (24.0 MH; 8.4 non-MH) PHPPM more office visits; 2.1 (2.7 MH) PHPPM more admissions; 104.8 (67.02 MH; 37.7 non-MH) PHPPM more prescriptions in the SCZ cohort (all p<.01). After index date, the SCZ cohort had 89.6 (81.3 MH; 9.2 non-MH) more PHPPM office visits, 7.2 (6.1 MH; 0.9 non-MH) PHPPM more admissions, and 181.6 (123.1 MH; 58.6 non-MH) PHPPM more prescriptions (all p<.001). All-cause costs in the pre-index period were $457 PPPM ($373 MH) higher for the SCZ cohort (p<.001). In the post-index period, all-cause costs for the SCZ cohort were $1,687 PPPM ($1,258 MH; $412 non-MH) higher (all p<.001). Approximately, 40% of patients with SCZ were on commercial insurance after four years compared with approximately 75% in the non-SCZ cohort.

LIMITATIONS

This study was based on data from a single state, thus may not be generalizable to other states.

CONCLUSIONS

Healthcare costs and HRU for young adults diagnosed with SCZ are significantly more burdensome to commercial payers than matched patients without SCZ, both before and after an official SCZ diagnosis.

Variability in Price of Generic Antipsychotic Medications at Community Pharmacies

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to examine variability in pricing of generic antipsychotic medications in a diverse metropolitan area and to determine whether prices varied by pharmacy type.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was conducted of pharmacy-level variability in retail cash prices for a 30-day supply of one first-generation and five generically available second-generation antipsychotic medications at community pharmacies in the Kansas City metropolitan area. All community pharmacies in the area were identified (N=281), and 94% (N=265, with 147 in Missouri and 118 in Kansas) responded to phone queries between April 25 and May 25, 2017, requesting the cash price of a 30-day supply of each of the six antipsychotics. All included pharmacies were categorized as a nationwide chain (N=182), grocery store (N=53), or independent pharmacy (N=30).

RESULTS

Retail cash prices varied for all antipsychotic medications, with significant differences in price by pharmacy type. Price variation across all pharmacy types was lowest for haloperidol ($20-$102.99) and highest for aripiprazole ($29.99-$1,345.00). Pairwise comparisons showed that chain pharmacies had higher prices, compared with independent pharmacies, for all medications except haloperidol. Overall, chain pharmacies had the highest prices, with prices at grocery store pharmacies averaging $180 lower than chain pharmacies, and independent pharmacies averaging $415 lower than chain pharmacies.

CONCLUSIONS

This report is the first on pharmacy-level variability in the costs of generic antipsychotic treatment options for schizophrenia. Appreciable differences were found in the costs of generic antipsychotics. Understanding variability in antipsychotic pricing may be important for providers serving uninsured patients.