TL/DR –
A study has found that hypertension is linked to higher medical, inpatient and out-of-pocket expenses for privately insured US adults. The retrospective cohort study used data covering 393,018 adults, of whom 156,556 (40%) had hypertension in 2021. Among these, women experienced significantly higher hypertension-associated costs – by $721 – compared to men, and individuals with hypertension overall had $2,926 higher total expenditures and $328 higher out-of-pocket expenditures compared to those without hypertension.
Hypertension Incurring Higher Medical Expenses in Privately Insured US Adults
US adults with private insurance are experiencing higher medical costs due to hypertension, as shown in a study published in Hypertension. Researchers aimed to evaluate the total and out-of-pocket expenses related to hypertension among these privately insured individuals.
The research team used IQVIA’s Ambulatory Electronic Medical Records-US linked with PharMetrics Plus claims data. They identified adults aged 18 to 64 with hypertension, defined as individuals possessing at least one antihypertensive medication prescription in 2021, at least two blood pressure recordings of at least 140/90 mm Hg, or one hypertension diagnosis ICD-10 code. Those with palliative care, end-stage renal disease or pregnancy-related visits were not part of the study.
393,018 adults were part of the study, 40% of whom had hypertension in 2021. A higher percentage of hypertension was noted among Black men, individuals aged at least 45 years, with moderate to severe obesity, and residents in the US South region.
It was findings suggest that in 2021, individuals with hypertension had $2926 higher total expenditures and $328 higher out-of-pocket expenditures compared to those without hypertension. Patients with hypertension also faced $3272 higher total inpatient expenditures and $2189 higher total outpatient expenditures.
Women were found to experience higher hypertension-associated incremental total expenditures ($3242) compared to men ($2521). They also faced higher hypertension-associated expenditures, by $721, compared to men.
However, the study’s limitations must be considered. The electronic records used do not reflect a nationally representative population. Estimates were taken from care-seeking adults’ convenience sample, making it unsuitable for generalization to the broader privately insured population. Older adults, publicly insured or uninsured individuals were not included, and unobserved confounders and exclusion of known relevant confounders (income, education) were not accounted for.
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