31 January, 2006 - The new Medicare prescription drug benefit now going into effect will help ensure that seniors have affordable access to the medicines they need. Research is showing how continued discovery of new medicines not only benefits seniors’ health, but helps control total health care costs as well. Recent findings on treatments for many of the diseases most common among seniors show how new medicines can extend lives, preserve independence, and off-set costly care, such as hospitalizations.
Medicines are key in treating many diseases that affect seniors
Diabetes Medicines that control diabetes help prevent serious complications, reducing the cost of care. Diabetes is particularly prevalent among elderly patients; according to the American Diabetes Association, 10.3 million, or 20.9% of all people age 60 and older have diabetes.[1] One recent study found that effective treatment of diabetes with medicines and other therapy yields annual health care savings of $685 - $950 per patient within one to two years.[2] Another study corroborated these results, finding that use of a disease management program to control diabetes with medicines and patient education generated savings of $747 per patient per year.[3]
Alzheimer's Disease One Alzheimer's disease (AD) medicine was found to reduce spending on skilled nursing facilities and hospital stays. AD affects about 5% of people ages 65 to 74, and nearly half of those age 85 and older.[4] A study of the effects of a new Alzheimer's medicine on costs in a Medicare managed care plan showed that, although the prescription costs for the group receiving the drug were over $1,000 higher per patient, the overall medical costs fell to $8,056 compared with $11,947 for the group not receiving drug treatment. This one-third savings was the result of reduced costs in other areas, such as hospital and skilled nursing facility costs.[5]
Heart failure Patients with heart failure who are treated with beta-blockers live longer and treatment costs are $3,959 lower than patients who do not take these medicines. A January 2004 study by Duke researchers found that "beta-blocker therapy improves the clinical outcomes of heart failure patients and is cost saving to society and Medicare." The study, which was written before enactment of the Medicare drug benefit, notes: "If medication costs were completely reimbursed by Medicare, program savings from beta-blocker therapy would remain positive." In addition, patient survival increased by an average of about three-and-a-half months and patients needed fewer overnight hospital stays.[6] Given that heart failure is the number one cause of hospitalization for people over age 65,[7] improved use of beta-blockers and other medicines could have a wide impact.
Depression New medicines brought down the cost of treating depression in the 1990s by reducing the need for hospitalization, according to a recent study. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry in December 2003, found that per-patient spending on depression fell by 19% over the course of the decade as newer, better medicines became available.[8] An estimated 2 million seniors have a depressive illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.[9]
Impact likely to grow
As the elderly population in the United States balloons, continued discovery of and access to new medicines will become more important. For example, a new study in The Lancet reports that the prevalence of dementia is expected to rise sharply. AD is the most common cause of dementia. The study finds that new cases of dementia are appearing worldwide at a rate of 1 case every 7 seconds or 4.6 million new cases every year. Given this rate of increase, the number of people affected by dementia is expected to double every 20 years to 81.1 million by 2040. In the US alone, the estimated cost of informal care by family and friends for dementia patients was $18 billion per year in 1998.[10]
Better access to medicines improves older Americans' lives
The population of Americans over 65 is growing and the pace will only increase over the next several years. According to the Census Bureau, the number of Americans over age 65 will grow from about 35 million in 2000 to over 53 million in 2020 and will reach about 70 million by 2030.[11] Providing affordable access to medicine, especially for the elderly, is critical to treating and preventing many conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, heart failure, cancer and others. Taking medication during the early stages of these diseases can reduce complications and prevent costly hospital stays. The Medicare prescription drug benefit will help ensure older and disabled people with these diseases have affordable access to current and future medicines, providing them with a healthier and more active life.
1 American Diabetes Association, “Total Prevalence of Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes,” http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-statistics/prevalence.jsp (Accessed 26 January 2006).
2 E.H. Wagner, et al., "Effect of Improved Glycemic Control on Health Care Costs and Utilization," Journal of the American Medical Association, 285 (2001): 2, 182-189.
3 J Berger, J Slezak, N Stine, et al, “Economic impact of a diabetes disease management program in a self-insured health plan: Early results,” Disease Management, 4 (2001): 2, 65-73.
4 Alzheimer's Disease Education & Referral Center, “General Information,” September 2005, http://www.alzheimers.org/generalinfo.htm (Accessed 30 January 2006).
5 JW Hill, et al. "The Effect of Donepezil Therapy on Health Costs in a Managed Care Plan," Managed Care Interface, (March 2002): 63-70.
6 PA Cowper, et al., "Economic Effects of Beta-Blocker Therapy in Patients with Heart Failure," The American Journal of Medicine, 116 (2004): 2, 104-111.
7 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “National Institutes of Health Senior Health,” 13 January 2006, http://nihseniorhealth.gov/heartfailure/faq/faq4a.html (26 January 2006).
8 PE Greenberg, et al., "The Economic Burden of Depression in the United States : How Did It Change Between 1990 and 2000?" Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 64 (2003): 1465-1475.
9 National Institute of Mental Health, “Older Adults: Depression and Suicide Facts,” May 2003, http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/elderlydepsuicide.cfm (Accessed 26 January 2006).
10 Ferri, Cleusa P. et al, “Global Prevalence of Dementia: A Delphi Consensus Study”, The Lancet, 366 (9503): 2112-2117.
11 U.S. Census Bureau, “Projections of the Total Resident Population by 5-Year Age Groups, and Sex with Special Age Categories,” (Washington, DC: U.S. Census Bureau, 2002) available at www.census.gov/population/projections/nation/summary Tables np-t3-a through np-t3-h.
back to top
