Table 3.
Health Care Expenditures and Out-of-pocket Expenses for Patients With Early-Stage Breast Cancer in 14 Commercial Health Plans
| Whole Breast Irradiation, Adjusted Mean (95% CI), US $ | Differences, Adjusted Mean (95% CI), US $a |
P Value | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hypofractionated | Conventional | |||
| Hypofractionated-Endorsed Cohort | ||||
| Commercial plan paid expenditures | ||||
| Totalb | 28 747 (27 345 to 30 221) | 31 641 (30 446 to 32 883) | 2894 (1610 to 4234) | <.001 |
| Radiotherapy-relatedc | 12 622 (12 053 to 13 218) | 16 961 (16 358 to 17 585) | 4338 (3709 to 4991) | <.001 |
| Patient out-of-pocket expenses | ||||
| Totalb | 2215 (2012 to 2438) | 2233 (2075 to 2404) | 19 (−155 to 207) | .84 |
| Radiotherapy-relatedc | 617 (536 to 710) | 746 (668 to 832) | 128 (46 to 221) | <.001 |
| Hypofractionated-Permitted Cohort | ||||
| Commercial plan paid expenditures | ||||
| Totalb | 64 273 (60 500 to 68 282) | 72 860 (69 599 to 76 283) | 8587 (5316 to 12 017) | <.001 |
| Radiotherapy-related | 14 974 (14 160 to 15 837) | 19 762 (18 928 to 20 632) | 4785 (3984 to 5623) | <.001 |
| Patient out-of-pocket expenses | ||||
| Totalb | 3278 (2954 to 3638) | 3421 (3158 to 3706) | 143 (−121 to 429) | .30 |
| Radiotherapy-relatedc | 519 (415 to 648) | 619 (520 to 736) | 100 (3 to 215) | .04 |
Abbreviation: WBI, whole breast irradiation.
a
Models are adjusted for treatment year, age, comorbid disease, history of chemotherapy before and after lumpectomy, axillary lymph node involvement, use of intensity-modulated radiotherapy, density of radiation oncologists by hospital service area, population density of county of residence, percentage of resident with less than high school degree, and median household income in the county of residence.
b
Total 1-year expenditures in the 1-year period after diagnosis.
c
Radiotherapy-related expenditures in the 3.5-month radiotherapy episode.