Highlights
- •85.3% of MS patients would like to know about OOP treatment costs.
- •59.6% of MS patients would like to discuss OOP costs with their providers.
- •Only 20.5% of MS patients discuss OOP costs with their providers.
- •Only 15.5% of MS patients inquire about expected OOP costs through their insurer.
- •Providers should take an active role in making cost of care information more accessible to patients.
Abstract
Background and Purpose
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a costly disease and out-of-pocket (OOP) cost information
is difficult to obtain. We seek to characterize the perceptions and experiences of
MS patients regarding out-of-pocket (OOP) costs of care discussions and evaluate factors
associated with them.
Materials and Methods
MS patients visiting an outpatient neurology clinic 7/2018-2/2019 were approached
to complete a survey regarding costs of care discussions. Logistic regression analyses
were performed to identify factors associated with patient preferences in discussing
OOP costs with their provider and actions to contact insurance company to inquire
about OOP costs.
Results
A total of 243 patients responded (response rate 43.5%). With regard to perceptions,
85.3% of patients expressed interest in knowing about OOP costs, 59.6% reported desire
specifically for their healthcare provider to discuss OOP costs, and 18.5% reported
that there have been times they wanted to discuss OOP costs but did not have the opportunity
to do so. With regard to experiences, 20.5% reported discussing costs with their providers
in the past three months, 15.5% contacted their insurance company regarding OOP costs,
and 10.6% received a call from an imaging center to inform them of OOP costs. Patients
who were male, white, or had at least one relapse were significantly more likely to
desire to discuss OOP costs with their provider. No factors were significantly associated
with patients contacting their insurance company regarding OOP costs.
Conclusion
Most MS patients would like to discuss costs of care with their providers, but only
one in five actually do so. Medical practices can take initiatives towards providing
transparency in OOP costs.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 28, 2020
Accepted:
June 26,
2020
Received in revised form:
June 9,
2020
Received:
March 25,
2020
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
