Assessing health care resource use, outcomes, and costs among Medicaid beneficiaries receiving factor IX prophylaxis for hemophilia B.

Background: Hemophilia B is characterized by a deficiency of clotting factor IX (FIX), leading to excessive bleeding. Hemophilia B is commonly treated using replacement FIX therapy, which may be administered prophylactically or on-demand following a bleeding episode. Previous research has found high health care resource use (HCRU) and costs among Medicare and commercially insured people with hemophilia B (PwHB), with FIX therapy being a primary driver of health care costs.

Objective: To assess HCRU, outcomes, and costs among US Medicaid beneficiaries receiving FIX prophylaxis for hemophilia B.

Methods: This study employed a retrospective comparative cohort design to assess HCRU, outcomes, and costs among adult male Medicaid beneficiaries receiving FIX prophylaxis for hemophilia B, relative to a matched comparator population of beneficiaries without bleeding disorders. Nationwide Medicaid claims and enrollment data from 2015 to 2020 were used for this analysis. Adult male PwHB who received FIX prophylaxis, defined as not having identified gaps in FIX therapy exceeding 60-days during a 1-year measurement period, and were continuously enrolled in Medicaid for at least 2 years, were matched 1:4 to comparator beneficiaries without bleeding disorders based on baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. Key measures of HCRU and outcomes included inpatient hospital admissions, outpatient hematologist visits, and bleeding events. Measures of health care costs were assessed among a subset of beneficiaries enrolled in fee-for-service Medicaid.

Results: PwHB receiving FIX prophylaxis were significantly more likely to have multiple inpatient hospital admissions and had a longer cumulative length of stay per person relative to comparator beneficiaries (30.2 vs 14.8 days, respectively; P = 0.0473). PwHB receiving FIX prophylaxis also had significantly higher rates of bleeding events relative to comparator beneficiaries (0.54 vs 0.02 per person, respectively; P < 0.0001) and outpatient hematologist visits (1.58 vs 0.20 per person, respectively; P < 0.0001). Annual costs among PwHB receiving FIX prophylaxis were significantly higher than costs among comparator beneficiaries ($928,370 vs $34,553 per person, respectively; P < 0.0001) and were overwhelmingly driven by costs associated with FIX therapy.

Conclusions: This analysis found higher rates of HCRU and costs among Medicaid beneficiaries receiving FIX prophylaxis for hemophilia B relative to a matched comparator population of beneficiaries without bleeding disorders. Future research should examine hemophilia B costs and outcomes within the context of new treatments with innovative mechanisms of action, such as gene therapies, RNA interference therapies, and antitissue factor pathway inhibitor therapies.