Theresa I Shireman1, Jessica Ogarek2, Pedro Gozalo3, Tingting Zhang2, Vincent Mor3, H Edward Davidson4, Lisa Han4, Monica Taljaard5, Stefan Gravenstein6. 1. Brown School of Public Health, Health Service Policy & Practice, Providence, RI; Center for Gerontology & Healthcare Research, Providence, RI. Electronic address: Theresa_Shireman@brown.edu. 2. Brown School of Public Health, Health Service Policy & Practice, Providence, RI; Center for Gerontology & Healthcare Research, Providence, RI. 3. Brown School of Public Health, Health Service Policy & Practice, Providence, RI; Center for Gerontology & Healthcare Research, Providence, RI; Providence Veterans Administration Hospital, Providence, RI. 4. Insight Therapeutics, LLC, Norfolk, VA. 5. Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Toronto, Ottawa, Canada. 6. Brown School of Public Health, Health Service Policy & Practice, Providence, RI; Center for Gerontology & Healthcare Research, Providence, RI; Providence Veterans Administration Hospital, Providence, RI; Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Influenza is a leading cause of avoidable admissions for nursing home (NH) residents. We previously evaluated the effectiveness of a high-dose trivalent influenza vaccine (HD) compared to a standard-dose influenza vaccine (SD) through a cluster-randomized trial of NH residents. Fewer residents from facilities randomized to HD were hospitalized. In this article, we extend our analyses to consider direct medical care costs relative to vaccine costs for HD ($31.82/dose) as compared to SD ($12.04/dose). DESIGN: Post hoc, cost-benefit analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: From the participating NH facilities (n = 817), we identified Medicare fee-for-service enrollees who were long-stay residents (>100 days) at the start of the 2013-2014 influenza season (November 1-May 31). The intervention was residence in a facility randomized to HD or SD influenza vaccine. METHODS: We summed expenditures from long-stay NH residents' Medicare Part A, B, and D fee-for-service claims and compared person-level expenditures between residents of facilities offering HD vs SD. Expenditures were adjusted for clustering of residents within NHs, person-time, and prespecified covariates using 2-part, generalized linear models with bootstrapped standard errors. We examined the incremental cost-benefit of HD vs SD vaccines from a payer perspective. RESULTS:There were 18,605 and 18,658 Medicare fee-for-service long-stay residents in facilities offering HD and SD, respectively. Person- and facility-adjusted total expenditures differed by $546 (P = .006). The $20 incremental cost of HD to SD offset adjusted expenditures for a net benefit of $526 per NH resident and a financial return on investment of 546/20 = 27:1. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The use of HD influenza vaccine in long-stay NH residents reduced total health care expenditures for a net benefit despite HD being more expensive per dose. These cost offsets applied to Medicare beneficiaries residing in NHs could result in important savings to the Medicare program.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: Influenza is a leading cause of avoidable admissions for nursing home (NH) residents. We previously evaluated the effectiveness of a high-dose trivalent influenza vaccine (HD) compared to a standard-dose influenza vaccine (SD) through a cluster-randomized trial of NH residents. Fewer residents from facilities randomized to HD were hospitalized. In this article, we extend our analyses to consider direct medical care costs relative to vaccine costs for HD ($31.82/dose) as compared to SD ($12.04/dose). DESIGN: Post hoc, cost-benefit analysis. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: From the participating NH facilities (n = 817), we identified Medicare fee-for-service enrollees who were long-stay residents (>100 days) at the start of the 2013-2014 influenza season (November 1-May 31). The intervention was residence in a facility randomized to HD or SD influenza vaccine. METHODS: We summed expenditures from long-stay NH residents' Medicare Part A, B, and D fee-for-service claims and compared person-level expenditures between residents of facilities offering HD vs SD. Expenditures were adjusted for clustering of residents within NHs, person-time, and prespecified covariates using 2-part, generalized linear models with bootstrapped standard errors. We examined the incremental cost-benefit of HD vs SD vaccines from a payer perspective. RESULTS: There were 18,605 and 18,658 Medicare fee-for-service long-stay residents in facilities offering HD and SD, respectively. Person- and facility-adjusted total expenditures differed by $546 (P = .006). The $20 incremental cost of HD to SD offset adjusted expenditures for a net benefit of $526 per NH resident and a financial return on investment of 546/20 = 27:1. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS: The use of HD influenza vaccine in long-stay NH residents reduced total health care expenditures for a net benefit despite HD being more expensive per dose. These cost offsets applied to Medicare beneficiaries residing in NHs could result in important savings to the Medicare program.
Authors: Jessica R Cataldi; Laura P Hurley; Megan C Lindley; Sean T O'Leary; Carol Gorman; Michaela Brtnikova; Brenda L Beaty; Lori A Crane; David K Shay; Allison Kempe Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2021-01-22 Impact factor: 6.473