Medicare Part B Spending on Macular Degeneration Treatments Associated With Manufacturer Payments to Ophthalmologists.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) therapies aflibercept and ranibizumab are among the highest-cost Medicare Part B drugs, even though off-label use of lower-cost bevacizumab is clinically noninferior. Payments from manufacturers of these ARMD therapies to ophthalmologists are hypothesized to be factors in ophthalmologists' therapeutic choice, controlling for ophthalmologist and patient characteristics.

Objective

To assess the association between manufacturer payments to ophthalmologists and choice of ARMD treatment as well as to identify ophthalmologist-level characteristics associated with prescribing lower-cost ARMD therapies.

Design, setting, and participants

This retrospective cross-sectional study of longitudinal (2013-2019) Medicare Part B data

SUBMITTER: Dickson SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10492178 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature