Dive Brief:
- A new study released by Primrose Healthcare looks at the costs for managing HCV in both commercial and managed Medicaid patients, looking at range of factors that impact both cost and outcomes.
- By identifying a variety of healthcare services utilized by HCV patients, the study promotes the need for a treatment plan that focuses on overall health and comorbid conditions.
- The authors determined that HCV patients with commercial insurance cost about four times more than patients without the condition, and that drug costs are not solely responsible for the difference.
Dive Insight:
While drug prices have dominated discussions on cost management for HCV patients, this study points toward comorbid conditions as high cost drivers.
Some of those conditions that commonly accompany HCV include diabetes, mental health issues, substance abuse and hyperlipidemia, the reasearchers report, which complicate treatment and contribute toward poorer outcomes.
“This data clearly explains why the cost challenges experienced by payers will not be mitigated by prior authorization and other tactics that focus on new specialty drugs alone,” wrote Henri Cournand, CEO of Primrose Healthcare, in a prepared statement. “While drug costs dominate the headlines and today’s research around HCV, there is a much more compelling argument to be made that improving the holistic management of this condition is the most effective cost control strategy.”