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Tables
Household income, $ Deductible, as percentage of household income, % Coinsurance paid by household after deductible is reached, % Threshold beyond which government pays all drug costs as percentage of household income, % Enhanced assistance for households with 1 or more member born in 1939 or earlier Less than 33 000 0 25 1.25 33 000-50 000 1 25 2 Over $50 000 2 25 3 Standard assistance for all other households Less than 15 000 0 30 2 15 000-30 000 2 30 3 Over 30 000 3 30 4 - Table 2: Characteristics of study population, stratified by eligibility for enhanced fair PharmaCare
Characteristic Standard assistance, %*
n = 28 539Enhanced assistance, %*
n = 24 926Age*, yr 69 8961 (31.6) 3315 (13.3) 70 7458 (26.3) 4212 (16.9) 71 5615 (19.8) 5085 (20.4) 72 3828 (13.5) 5708 (22.9) 73 2496 (8.8) 6605 (26.5) Health status† 1-2 major ADGs 12 421 (43.8) 11 167 (44.8) ≥ 3 major ADGs 1957 (6.9) 1919 (7.7) ≥ 1 diagnoses of primary indications† Antihypertensives 16 618 (58.6) 15 529 (62.3) Cholesterol drugs 5615 (19.8) 5284 (21.2) Income†, $ 0-14 999 709 (2.5) 698 (2.8) 15 000-29 999 3148 (11.1) 3963 (15.9) 30 000-32 999 567 (2.0) 1371 (5.5) 33 000-42 999 3290 (11.6) 3614 (14.5) 43 000-49 999 2439 (8.6) 2642 (10.6) 50 000-56 999 3431 (12.1) 2418 (9.7) 57 000-69 999 4197 (14.8) 2767 (11.1) ≥ 70 000 10 550 (37.2) 7478 (30.0) Fair PharmaCare† Registered for plan 25 835 (91.1) 23 929 (96.0) Ethnicity† Chinese 1730 (6.1) 2817 (11.3) South Asian 1163 94.1) 997 (4.0) Rural dwelling Rural 2297 (8.1) 2044 (8.2) Overall health care use Mean total cost of medical care, $ 1112 1167 Mean no. of medical care visits 16.8 17.7 Mean total cost of hospital care, $ 1067 1112 Share with 1 or more admissions to hospital, no. (%) 6267 (22.1) 5558 (22.3) Note: ADG = aggregated diagnostic group.
*Unless otherwise indicated.
†Difference significant at p = 0.05.
- Table 3: Adjusted odds ratios for the likelihood of filling at least 1 prescription and adjusted difference in days of therapy per person filling at least 1 prescription for antihypertensive and cholesterol treatments
Characteristic Exposure to treatment Duration of treatment Antihypertensive agents
Adjusted OR (95% CI)Cholesterol treatments
Adjusted OR (95% CI)Antihypertensive agents
β (95% CI)Cholesterol treatments
β (95% CI)Age (69 = reference), yr 70 1.01 (0.94 to 1.08) 1.10 (1.03 to 1.17) 2.1 (-9.1 to 13.3) -0.7 (-7.7 to 6.2) 71 1.15 (1.07 to 1.24) 1.10 (1.03 to 1.18) 9.1 (-2.2 to 20.5) -3.5 (-10.5 to 3.6) 72 1.14 (1.06 to 1.24) 1.14 (1.06 to 1.22) 17.6 (5.9 to 29.4) -2.1 (-9.4 to 5.2) 73 1.19 (1.10 to 1.29) 1.19 (1.11 to 1.28) 14.5 (2.5 to 26.5) -2.1 (-9.5 to 5.3) Health: no. of major ADGs (0 = reference) 1 to 2 1.30 (1.23 to 1.37) 1.26 (1.20 to 1.32) 14.7 (6.5 to 22.8) 4.7 (-0.5 to 9.8) ≥ 3 1.34 (1.21 to 1.49) 1.39 (1.28 to 1.52) -1.4 (-15.2 to 12.5) -5.6 (-14 to 2.7) Diagnoses of specific indications, EDC codes CAR14 or CAR15: Hypertension 27.25 (25.86 to 28.72) 90.3 (81.2 to 99.3) CAR01: cardiovascular signs and symptoms 1.36 (1.28 to 1.46) 6.7 (-2.3 to 15.6) CAR05: Congestive heart failure 5.25 (4.35 to 6.35) 66.5 (48.9 to 84.2) CAR07: Cardiomyopathy 11.62 (5.73 to 23.56) 48.5 (5.8 to 91.2) END06 or END07: type 1 diabetes 13.24 (5.42 to 32.3) 210.5 (111 to 309.9) END08 or END09: type 2 diabetes 6.9 (6.46 to 7.38) 117.9 (109.4 to 126.4) CAR03: Ischemic heart disease 2.59 (2.34 to 2.87) 2.68 (2.49 to 2.87) 60.9 (49.4 to 72.4) 10.6 (4.2 to 17.1) CAR10: Generalized atherosclerosis 2.06 (1.54 to 2.76) 2.08 (1.7 to 2.54) 61.1 (29.5 to 92.7) 15.6 (-0.8 to 31.9) CAR12: Acute myocardial infarction 3.39 (2.01 to 5.7) 2.62 (2.03 to 3.38) -21 (-56.4 to 14.4) -54.6 (-72.4 to -36.9) CAR11: Disorders of lipoid metabolism 3.21 (3.02 to 3.4) -20.6 (-26.1 to -15.2) NUR05: Cerebrovascular disease 2.3 (2.07 to 2.55) -3.1 (-12.2 to 6.01) Ethnicity (white/other = reference) Chinese 0.63 (0.57 to 0.69) 1.24 (1.14 to 1.34) -49.5 (-64 to -35) -3.2 (-11.4 to 5) South Asian 0.83 (0.73 to 0.94) 1.44 (1.30 to 1.60) -10.9 (-28.6 to 6.8) -17.4 (-27.4 to -7.3) Setting (urban/suburban = reference) Rural setting 1.10 (1.01 to 1.21) 0.94 (0.86 to 1.02) 6.6 (-6.6 to 19.7) -0.4 (-8.9 to 8.2) Income (< 15 000 = reference), $ 15 000-29 999 1.01 (0.86 to 1.20) 1.19 (1.03 to 1.37) 34.4 (10.6 to 58.2) 5.6 (-8.7 to 19.9) 30 000-32 999 0.89 (0.73 to 1.09) 1.15 (0.97 to 1.37) 47.5 (18.5 to 76.4) -0.4 (-17.8 to 17) 33 000-42 999 0.99 (0.83 to 1.17) 1.12 (0.97 to 1.30) 52.6 (28.0 to 77.1) 11.7 (-3.0 to 26.5) 43 000-49 999 0.96 (0.81 to 1.15) 1.05 (0.90 to 1.23) 46.6 (21.2 to 72.0) 12.5 (-2.8 to 27.8) 50 000-56 999 1.00 (0.83 to 1.19) 1.11 (0.95 to 1.30) 44.8 (18.8 to 70.8) 17.6 (2.0 to 33.3) 57 000-69 999 1.02 (0.86 to 1.22) 0.96 (0.82 to 1.13) 40.6 (14.8 to 66.4) 19.3 (3.7 to 34.9) ≥ 70 000 0.93 (0.78 to 1.10) 0.89 (0.77 to 1.03) 35.5 (10.9 to 60.1) 23.6 (8.8 to 38.4) PharmaCare assistance (standard = reference), $ Enhanced, < 50 000 1.15 (1.06 to 1.24) 1.13 (1.06 to 1.21) 7.5 (-3.6 to 18.7) 6.1 (-0.7 to 12.8) Enhanced, > 50 000 0.98 (0.91 to 1.04) 1.08 (1.01 to 1.15) 4.1 (-6.2 to 14.5) -0.3 (-6.7 to 6.2) Note: Bolded estimates are statistically significant (p < 0.05). ADG = aggregated diagnostic group, CI = confidence interval, ECD = episode-specific disease category, OR = odds ratio.
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