Out-of-pocket expenses for the treatment of chronic heart disease lead to significant financial burdens for low-income families, even for those with health insurance, according to preliminary research presented April 6 at the American Heart Association’s Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Scientific Sessions 2018 in Arlington, Virginia.
“We were surprised to find that one in 10 low-income families, including those with health insurance, bear catastrophic medical expenses for these chronic conditions,” said lead researcher Rohan Khera, MD, with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and colleagues. “This finding means that the quality of insurance provided to these patients does not sufficiently cover their medical expenses or it doesn't account for their financial resources.”
Additionally, the researchers found a quarter of low-income families experience “significant” financial burden from out-of-pocket expenses for treatment of chronic heart disease. Low-income families with insurance had increased rates of out-of-pocket expenses than those families without insurance.
The study focused on the effects out-of-pocket expenses low-income families faced for the treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
The researchers used data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to determine out-of-pocket costs for the treatment of atherosclerotic CVD. They found 22,521 adults with atherosclerotic CVD from 20,600 families as the research cohort.
Low-income families were defined as those with an income below 200 percent of the federal poverty limit—or $20,000 to $24,250 in annual income for a family of four. High and catastrophic healthcare expenses were defined as more than 20 percent and 40 percent of family income, respectively.
They assessed inflation-adjusted expenses, including insurance premiums, deductibles, hospitalization costs, clinic visits and prescriptions, for families who had one or more member with atherosclerotic CVD from 2006 to 2015.
“While more low-income families gained insurance coverage over the period of time for which we evaluated the expense data, those with insurance had high rates of out-of-pocket expenses that frequently exceeded expenses of those without insurance,” Khera et al. said. “To alleviate economic disparities, the quality of insurance coverage for low-income families must improve.”
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.