INSULIN PRICE INCREASES FROM 2007-2014

• Published in: Value in health Vol. 20; no. 5; p. A178
• Main Authors: Ellyson, A, Bennette, CS
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lawrenceville Elsevier Science Ltd 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Averages; Change agents; Competitiveness; Competitors; Cost analysis; Cure; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Food prices; Glycemic control; Healthy food; Insulin; Medicare; Patients; Payments; Prescription drugs; Price increases
• ISSN: 1098-3015; 1524-4733

OBJECTIVES: Insulin is a life-saving drug that many patients diabetes require daily. Recent research reports that the price of insulin has soared in the previous decade. The objective of this analysis is to measure changes in the payments for insulin over time and how price is affected by market factors. METHODS: Data on average monthly payments for insulin was obtained the Truven Marketscan Commercial and Medicare Claims 2007-2014. The average monthly payment was calculated as expenditures per patient for a thirty-day supply of each drug in each quarter. Expenditures include payments from patients (copayments and coinsurance) and payments from the health plan. Additional data on drug characteristics and market information was also obtained from Redbook and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Orangebook and Drugs@FDA database. Prices for individual insulin products will depend on the quantity of prescriptions for product, quality attributes of the product, formulary tiers which vary by insurer, and market competitiveness, measured by the number and prices of competitors. Regression analysis will be used to assess the effect of market changes on insulin price including product fixed effects. RESULTS: On average, monthly payments for all insulins increased by 198.8 percent from the first quarter of 2007 to the last quarter of 2014. Insulin analogues accounted for over 86.5 percent of pharmaceutical claims for insulin in the Truven Marketscan Commercial and Medicare Database from 2007-2014. The majority of these price increases were absorbed by payers. Payments made by patients only increased by 36.7 percent. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin remains to be an incredibly cost-effective treatment to improve glycemic control among diabetic patients. However, these price increases may enhance the overall burden of illness of diabetes. As the treatment of diabetes becomes more costly, it may be important to consider the willingness of society to pay for a cure or find other treatment options.