Jun Su Park, Bomgyeol Kim, Yejin Kim, Sang Gyu Lee, Tae Hyun Kim
{"title":"Out-of-pocket costs associated with chronic respiratory diseases in Korean adults.","authors":"Jun Su Park, Bomgyeol Kim, Yejin Kim, Sang Gyu Lee, Tae Hyun Kim","doi":"10.1177/14799731241233301","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are a burden on both individuals and society. While previous literature has highlighted the clinical burden and total costs of care, it has not addressed patients' direct payments. This study aimed to estimate the incremental healthcare costs associated with patients with CRDs, specifically out-of-pocket (OOP) costs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We used survey data from the 2019 Korea Health Panel Survey to estimate the total OOP costs of CRDs by comparing the annual hospitalizations, outpatient visits, emergency room visits, and medications of patients with and without CRDs. Generalized linear regression models controlled for differences in other characteristics between groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We identified 222 patients with CRDs, of whom 166 were aged 65 years and older. Compared with the non-CRD group, CRD patients spent more on OOP costs (238.3 USD on average). Incremental costs were driven by outpatient visits and medications, which are subject to a coinsurance of 30% or more and may include items not covered by public insurance. Moreover, CRD patients aged 50-64 years incurred the highest incremental costs.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The financial burden associated with CRDs is significant, and outpatient visits and medications constitute the largest components of OOP spending. Policymakers should introduce appropriate strategies to reduce CRD-associated burdens.</p>","PeriodicalId":10217,"journal":{"name":"Chronic Respiratory Disease","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10893827/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Chronic Respiratory Disease","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/14799731241233301","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"RESPIRATORY SYSTEM","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) are a burden on both individuals and society. While previous literature has highlighted the clinical burden and total costs of care, it has not addressed patients' direct payments. This study aimed to estimate the incremental healthcare costs associated with patients with CRDs, specifically out-of-pocket (OOP) costs.
Methods: We used survey data from the 2019 Korea Health Panel Survey to estimate the total OOP costs of CRDs by comparing the annual hospitalizations, outpatient visits, emergency room visits, and medications of patients with and without CRDs. Generalized linear regression models controlled for differences in other characteristics between groups.
Results: We identified 222 patients with CRDs, of whom 166 were aged 65 years and older. Compared with the non-CRD group, CRD patients spent more on OOP costs (238.3 USD on average). Incremental costs were driven by outpatient visits and medications, which are subject to a coinsurance of 30% or more and may include items not covered by public insurance. Moreover, CRD patients aged 50-64 years incurred the highest incremental costs.
Discussion: The financial burden associated with CRDs is significant, and outpatient visits and medications constitute the largest components of OOP spending. Policymakers should introduce appropriate strategies to reduce CRD-associated burdens.
期刊介绍:
Chronic Respiratory Disease is a peer-reviewed, open access, scholarly journal, created in response to the rising incidence of chronic respiratory diseases worldwide. It publishes high quality research papers and original articles that have immediate relevance to clinical practice and its multi-disciplinary perspective reflects the nature of modern treatment. The journal provides a high quality, multi-disciplinary focus for the publication of original papers, reviews and commentary in the broad area of chronic respiratory disease, particularly its treatment and management.