Cost sharing, family health care burden, and the use of specialty drugs for rheumatoid arthritis.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To examine the impact of benefit generosity and household health care financial burden on the demand for specialty drugs in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Data sources/study setting

Enrollment, claims, and benefit design information for 35 large private employers during 2000-2005.

Study design

We estimated multivariate models of the effects of benefit generosity and household financial burden on initiation and continuation of biologic therapies.

Data extraction methods

We defined initiation of biologic therapy as first-time use of etanercept, adalimumab, or infliximab, and we constructed an index of plan generosity based on coverage of biologic therapies in each plan. We estimated the household's burden by summing up the annual out-of-po

SUBMITTER: Karaca-Mandic P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2965502 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature