Medicaid spending burden among beneficiaries with treatment-resistant depression
Abstract
Aim: To evaluate Medicaid spending and healthcare resource utilization (HRU) in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Materials & methods: TRD beneficiaries were identified from Medicaid claims databases (January 2010–March 2017) and matched 1:1 with major depressive disorder (MDD) beneficiaries without TRD (non-TRD-MDD) and randomly selected patients without MDD (non-MDD). Differences in HRU and per-patient-per-year costs were reported in incidence rate ratios (IRRs) and cost differences (CDs), respectively. Results: TRD beneficiaries had higher HRU than 1:1 matched non-TRD-MDD (e.g., inpatient visits: IRR = 1.41) and non-MDD beneficiaries (N = 14,710 per cohort; e.g., inpatient visits: IRR = 3.42, p < 0.01). TRD beneficiaries incurred greater costs versus non-TRD-MDD (CD = US$4382) and non-MDD beneficiaries (CD = US$8294; p < 0.05). Conclusion: TRD is associated with higher HRU and costs versus non-TRD-MDD and non-MDD. TRD poses a significant burden to Medicaid.
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© 2019 D Pilon, JJ Sheehan, H Szukis, D Singer, P Jacques, D Lejeune, P Lefebvre & PE Greenberg.
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Received: 3 December 2018
Accepted: 22 January 2019
Published online: 8 February 2019
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Medicaid spending burden among beneficiaries with treatment-resistant depression. (2019) Journal of Comparative Effectiveness Research. DOI: 10.2217/cer-2018-0140
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