Analysis of cost of illness and diagnosis-related group payment system in breast cancer patients with chemotherapy in Indonesia

Abstract

Background: Often, breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy sacrifice their finances, and the financial costs also affect the government. Objective: This study aims to analyse the cost of illness and the application of an insurance payment system among breast cancer patients receiving various chemotherapy regimens. Method: This study was retrospective and used a bottom-up prevalence approach. Data were collected from a secondary hospital between 2020 and 2021. The inclusion criteria were breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Patients with incomplete detailed cost data were excluded. The cost of illness was calculated from direct medical costs and the estimated non-medical and indirect costs. Results: The cost of illness for a chemotherapy visit for a breast cancer patient spanned from USD 130.37 to USD 932.05. However, these values did not include healthcare service costs and laboratory tests. The highest regimentation chemotherapy cost is for the combination of docetaxel–cyclophosphamide–trastuzumab. There was a significant margin between insurance claims and variable medical costs (p < 0,05), ranging between USD 24.21 and 104.83. Conclusion: The cost of illness for chemotherapy for breast cancer patients is high, and the coverage of the diagnosis-related payment system is limited. Therefore, the government should accelerate prevention programmes to reduce the incidence of cancer.