Association between taking asthma medication and total direct healthcare costs among patients with asthm

Asthma is one of the most common chronic and financially burdensome diseases in the United States. Previous studies have focused on comparing healthcare costs between asthma patients and non-asthma patients. This study is unique as it compares healthcare costs among asthma patients based on whether they take daily asthma medication. In addition, this cross-sectional study investigates whether the daily asthma medication-healthcare cost association differs by age or race/ethnicity. Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) 2012-2013 data was used for this secondary data analysis (n=1,336). Prescription taking status and total healthcare costs were self-reported by the study participants. A two part linear regression model was used to calculate total healthcare costs for the asthma patients. Healthcare costs for patients taking daily asthma prescriptions were higher than for patients not taking daily asthma prescriptions ($15,149 vs $7,485; p ≤ 0.0001) after controlling for confounders. Race/ethnicity and age were effect modifiers of the association. Additional studies are needed to investigate possible factors associated with these higher costs. Specifically, future studies should further evaluate the racial/ethnic and age disparities seen in this study. This information could assist medical and public health practitioners in better understanding some of the issues responsible for high healthcare costs and helping them to plan strategies to minimize these costs among asthma patients.