The economic burden of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in rheumatoid arthritis patients in the United States

Background Previous U.S. economic burden estimates for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) varied from $85.6 to $148.1 billion annually. However, these estimates do not reflect comparative amounts spent on RA treatment options in addition to other medical expenditures. Therefore, this study's goal was to comparatively analyze the overall economic burden of U.S. patients treated for RA using conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) versus TNF alpha biologic DMARDs. Research Design and Methods This retrospective observational study analyzed Medical Expenditure Panel Survey Household Component data from 2016 to 2018. Healthcare utilization, total medical expenditures, and out-of-pocket expenditures were compared between RA medication groups. Results Three hundred twenty-five adult RA patients experiencing 603 RA-related events, including at least one medical visit, were identified. Rheumatic arthritis-attributable medical expenditures among patients prescribed DMARDs were $11.4 billion. Average total medical expenditures were significantly higher for the TNF alpha biologic group $26,216.67 (95% CI: $19,502.84-$32,930.5) versus $5,388.52 (95% CI: $2,768.25-$8,008.79) for the conventional DMARD group (p < 0.001). Conclusions RA patients receiving TNF alpha biologics experienced significantly higher total medical and out-of-pocket expenditures; however, they experienced fewer or no occurrences of high-cost drivers of healthcare utilization compared to patients receiving conventional DMARDs. Plain Language Summary This study shows that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with biologic-containing disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) encountered significantly higher total medical expenditures as well as out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures versus those with conventional DMARDs. The average total medical expenditures were $26,216.67 in the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha biologic group and $5,388.52 in the conventional DMARD group. However, even with higher total medical expenditures, data suggests the TNF alpha biologic group experienced fewer emergency room visits, less home health services, and no hospitalizations compared to the conventional DMARD group.