Variation in Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) Among Multiple Myeloma Patients by Insurance Coverage

Affordability of health care in the United States (US), and the impact of patient insurance coverage on it have been shown to be associated with the delivery and timeliness of access to care. With increasing costs of novel therapies in hematology and oncology, this concern has been raised in hematologic cancers. This analysis evaluates whether the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of patients with active, symptomatic multiple myeloma (MM) patients in the US varies by their insurance coverage as they initiate treatment.

Baseline data were collected in Connect MM®, a prospective observational registry initiated in September 2009 involving centers in the US. Data on patient demographics and clinical characteristics were provided by clinicians. HRQOL was reported by patients in the clinic at enrollment, within two months of diagnosis. Patients completed 3 psychometrically validated instruments: the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI), EQ-5D, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Multiple Myeloma (FACT-MM). Standard analyses were conducted of each instrument given clinical characteristics at that time. Patients were characterized as to the main source of their insurance coverage: Medicare, Medicaid or Commercial. The Medicare cohort included those with supplemental commercial coverage, and the Medicaid cohort included those with dual Medicare-Medicaid coverage. Reported mean BPI, EQ-5D and FACT-MM scores were analyzed by patient insurance coverage. Statistical significance of score differences among sub-cohorts was ascertained by ANOVA using SAS 9.1.

HRQOL data and insurance status were reported by 863 patients, enrolled from 189 centers. Patients were predominantly male (57%) and white (82%) with mean age at 67.0 (standard deviation [SD] 11.3) yrs. HRQOL scores by insurance status are presented:

Overall FACT-MM results indicate that Medicaid insurance status is associated with greater decrement in baseline HRQOL compared to the other groups. Statistically significant differences are noted in the FACT-G general cancer HRQOL score, and its physical, social/family and emotional component scores. BPI data (on a scale of 0 [no pain] to 10 [worst pain] indicate that average pain may be worse among Medicaid patients compared to either Medicare or commercially insured patients. There are no statistically significant differences on EQ-5D scores (on a scale of 1 [no problem] to 2 [some problems] to 3 [incapacity] between cohorts based on insurance status.

Initial results from the Connect MM® Registry indicate that HRQOL at baseline prior to initiation of treatment is worse among Medicaid patients compared to those with either Medicare or commercial coverage. This should be investigated to determine whether Medicaid patients are accessing care later in disease progression than others covered by Medicare or commercial insurance. Furthermore, future analyses should be conducted of patients by insurance coverage to determine whether status may be associated with access to medical care, subsequent clinical outcomes, and HRQOL over time. Results reported here should serve as a baseline reference.

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