Table 3.
Distribution of mean Medicare payments in year following diagnosis of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in matched sample (in 2008 constant dollars)1
| 1994 cohort (n=2,488) |
2000 cohort (n=2,488) |
p-value | 2006 cohort (n=2,488) |
p-value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total health and eye care related payments | |||||
| Total health | 3572 | 4088** | <0.0001 | 5742** | <0.0001 |
| Eye-related | 1504 | 1924** | <0.0001 | 3390** | <0.0001 |
| AMD treatment payments | |||||
| Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections | 0 | 0 | N/A | 1700** | <0.0001 |
| Laser | 353 | 228** | <0.0001 | 50** | <0.0001 |
| Photodynamic therapy | 0 | 50** | <0.0001 | 165** | <0.0001 |
| Imaging payments | |||||
| Fluorescein angiography | 303 | 287 | 0.1396 | 289 | 0.1961 |
| Optical coherence tomography | 0 | 4** | <0.0001 | 106** | <0.0001 |
| Other imaging | 59 | 115** | <0.0001 | 110** | <0.0001 |
| Other payments for eye-related care | |||||
| Cataract | 142 | 91** | <0.0001 | 68** | <0.0001 |
| Cornea | 5 | 2 | 0.1113 | 1* | 0.0438 |
| Glaucoma | 24 | 8** | 0.0002 | 13* | 0.0162 |
| Vitrectomy | 109 | 144* | 0.0422 | 32** | <0.0001 |
| Visits | 116 | 133** | <0.0001 | 214** | <0.0001 |
| Other | 392 | 863** | <0.0001 | 643** | <0.0001 |
*
Significantly different from the 1994 cohort at the 5% level
**
Significantly different from the 1994 cohort at the 1% level
1
The Medical Care Price Index from 1991 to 2008 was obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics website and used to calculate the adjusted price in 2008 dollars.