Long-Term Healthcare Utilization and the Cost of Bipolar Disorder Among Participants in a Large Employer's Health Benefit Plan

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic illness with recurrent exacerbations. The objective was to evaluate longitudinal costs related to BD in an employer-sponsored medical plan. This analysis utilized 5 years of administrative claims data. Claimants with a diagnosis of BD were matched to plan members (...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of occupational and environmental medicine Vol. 64; no. 3; p. e124
Main Authors Leung, Nina, Bernacki, Seth E, Kalia, Nimisha, Bernacki, Edward J, Almeida, Jorge R C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.03.2022
Subjects
Bipolar Disorder - epidemiology
Bipolar Disorder - therapy
Delivery of Health Care
Health Planning
Hospitalization
Humans
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Retrospective Studies
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

More Information
Summary:Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic illness with recurrent exacerbations. The objective was to evaluate longitudinal costs related to BD in an employer-sponsored medical plan. This analysis utilized 5 years of administrative claims data. Claimants with a diagnosis of BD were matched to plan members (1:5) based on age, sex, and years of follow-up. Medical costs for hospitalized BD members were 3.5 times more expensive than the general population (BDhosp = $92.2K vs General population = $26.8K). Average 5-year paid costs among hospitalized members with BD was $107K, $105.4K with cancer, and $103.3K with myocardial infarction (MI). Hospitalized BD plan members consumed more than 3.5 times the medical resources and were similar in longitudinal costs when compared with members with other costly conditions. These findings highlight the need for novel employer-sponsored programs to help manage BD.
ISSN:1536-5948
DOI:10.1097/JOM.0000000000002465