Impact of Hepatitis C Virus and Insurance Coverage on Mortality

The American Journal of Managed Care February 2019

Impact of Hepatitis C Virus and Insurance Coverage on Mortality

Haley Bush, MSPH; James Paik, PhD; Pegah Golabi, MD; Leyla de Avila, BA; Carey Escheik, BS; and Zobair M. Younossi, MD, MPH

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https://www.ajmc.com/journals/issue/2019/2019-vol25-n2/impact-of-hepatitis-c-virus-and-insurance-coverage-on-mortality

Takeaway Points

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence is significantly higher among patients with Medicaid compared with patients with private insurance and Medicare. 

Medicaid patients who are infected with HCV have a higher risk of all-cause mortality than HCV-positive patients with private insurance coverage. 

Policy makers should consider providing additional resources to Medicaid to cover all HCV-infected individuals.

The Medicaid population has significantly higher hepatitis C virus (HCV) prevalence and mortality rates than patients with private insurance. These data must be considered when policy makers assess providing additional support to Medicaid programs for HCV elimination.

ABSTRACT
Objectives: To assess the association of payer status and mortality in hepatitis C virus (HCV)–infected patients.

Study Design: For this retrospective observational study, we used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2000 to 2010. Adults with complete data on medical questionnaires, HCV RNA, insurance types, and mortality follow-ups were included.

Methods: We used Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate independent associations of insurance type with mortality in HCV-infected individuals. These models were rerun in the subset of HCV-positive subjects to determine the association of insurance type with mortality. The data used in this study predated the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

Results: Among 19,452 eligible participants, 311 (1.4%) were HCV positive. HCV-positive patients were older, were more likely to be non-Hispanic black and male, and had higher prevalence of hypertension (all P <.001). HCV-positive patients were also less likely to have private insurance and more likely to be covered by Medicaid or be uninsured relative to HCV-negative patients (P <.001). Among HCV-positive patients, after adjustment for confounders, those with Medicaid coverage had an increased risk of mortality compared with those with private insurance (hazard ratio [HR], 6.31; 95% CI, 1.22-29.94) and uninsured individuals (HR, 8.83; 95% CI, 1.56-49.99).

Conclusions: Patients who have HCV are more likely to be uninsured or covered by Medicaid. HCV-positive patients with Medicaid have an increased mortality risk compared with those with private insurance. Given the high burden of HCV infection and adverse prognosis among individuals covered by Medicaid, policy makers must prioritize funding and supporting Medicaid programs.

Source Full-text article:

Am J Manag Care. 2019;25(2): In Press