Copayment reductions generate greater medication adherence in targeted patients

A large value-based insurance design program offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina eliminated generic medication copayments and reduced copayments for brand-name medications. Our study showed that the program improved adherence to medications for diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia,...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health Affairs Vol. 29; no. 11; pp. 2002 - 2008
Main Authors: Maciejewski, Matthew L, Farley, Joel F, Parker, John, Wansink, Daryl
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States The People to People Health Foundation, Inc., Project HOPE 01-11-2010
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Summary:A large value-based insurance design program offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina eliminated generic medication copayments and reduced copayments for brand-name medications. Our study showed that the program improved adherence to medications for diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and congestive heart failure. We found that adherence improved for enrollees, ranging from a gain of 3.8 percentage points for patients with diabetes to 1.5 percentage points for those taking calcium-channel blockers, when compared to others whose employers did not offer a similar program. An examination of longer-term adherence and trends in health care spending is still needed to provide a compelling evidence base for value-based insurance design.
ISSN:0278-2715
1544-5208
DOI:10.1377/hlthaff.2010.0571