Table 1.
Characteristics of Pennsylvania Medicaid Enrollees Initiating Oral Hypoglycemics
| Characteristics* | Total cohort (n = 16,256) | Perfect adherers (n = 1461) | Nearly perfect adherers (n = 5097) | Moderate adherers (n = 3412) | Low adherers (n = 1796) | Late discontinuers (n = 1110) | Early discontinuers (n = 1570) | Non-adherers with 1 fill (n = 1810) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics, eligibility, and plan type | ||||||||
| Age, mean (SD)‡ | 45.5 (11.2) | 49.7 (9.2) | 48.8 (9.7) | 46.2 (10.4) | 43.0 (11.1) | 44.0 (11.4) | 39.9 (11.9) | 39.4 (12.4) |
| Female, %‡ | 67.8 | 60.2 | 62.7 | 66.2 | 70.6 | 68.5 | 75.2 | 76.1 |
| Race, %‡ | ||||||||
| White | 51.2 | 62.7 | 56.7 | 42.6 | 43.7 | 49.6 | 52.8 | 49.7 |
| Black | 28.5 | 19.7 | 23.1 | 33.1 | 37.4 | 28.2 | 29.6 | 32.7 |
| Hispanic | 14.9 | 10.7 | 14.0 | 18.9 | 15.0 | 17.4 | 13.3 | 13.4 |
| Other/unknown | 5.4 | 6.9 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.3 | 4.3 |
| Managed care plan, %‡ | 76.5 | 74.3 | 73.6 | 79.0 | 80.6 | 75.2 | 76.4 | 78.5 |
| Medicaid eligibility category, %‡ | ||||||||
| GA | 16.4 | 14.9 | 18.8 | 19.4 | 16.5 | 15.1 | 11.7 | 10.3 |
| SSI | 59.1 | 72.8 | 65.6 | 57.4 | 54.9 | 56.0 | 47.9 | 48.4 |
| TANF | 23.7 | 12.3 | 15.4 | 22.9 | 28.0 | 28.2 | 37.1 | 39.1 |
| Waiver | 0.8 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 3.3 | 2.2 |
| Measures of service use | ||||||||
| No. outpatient visits‡ | 3.4 (7.0) | 2.9 (6.0) | 3.2 (6.9) | 2.9 (6.4) | 3.2 (6.1) | 3.6 (6.1) | 4.9 (9.3) | 4.6 (7.4) |
| No. of ED visits‡ | 1.3 (2.7) | 0.9 (2.1) | 1.0 (2.4) | 1.2 (2.5) | 1.6 (3.1) | 1.4 (2.7) | 1.6 (3.8) | 1.7 (3.0) |
| No. of hospitalizations | 0.26 (0.74) | 0.25 (0.83) | 0.25 (0.73) | 0.23 (0.60) | 0.29 (0.73) | 0.30 (0.85) | 0.26 (0.74) | 0.34 (0.86) |
| No. unique prescribers‡ | 2.5 (1.8) | 2.4 (1.8) | 2.5 (1.8) | 2.3 (1.6) | 2.4 (1.8) | 2.5 (1.9) | 2.7 (2.0) | 2.8 (1.9) |
| Use of multiple pharmacies, %‡ | 37.5 | 30.0 | 34.7 | 37.6 | 41.5 | 37.0 | 40.0 | 45.6 |
| Health status factors | ||||||||
| No. monthly prescriptions‡ | 4.8 (3.1) | 6.0 (3.9) | 5.3 (3.4) | 4.5 (2.8) | 4.1 (2.5) | 4.6 (2.9) | 4.1 (2.6) | 4.0 (2.8) |
| DCSI (range 0–13)‡ | 0.26 (0.62) | 0.32 (0.67) | 0.33 (0.69) | 0.28 (0.63) | 0.27 (0.61) | 0.27 (0.64) | 0.22 (0.60) | 0.01 (0.11) |
| Elixhauser comorbidity index† (range 0–29)‡ | 1.5 (1.7) | 1.6 (1.7) | 1.8 (1.7) | 1.6 (1.6) | 1.6 (1.6) | 1.8 (1.8) | 1.6 (1.8) | 0.04 (0.4) |
| Diabetes care during the index year | ||||||||
| No. diabetes medication classes‡ | 1.6 (0.8) | 2.0 (1.0) | 1.7 (0.8) | 1.6 (0.8) | 1.6 (0.8) | 1.6 (0.8) | 1.3 (0.6) | 1.2 (0.4) |
| Had metformin alone and no diabetes diagnosis‡ | 6.3 | 0.9 | 1.8 | 3.1 | 6.1 | 8.4 | 14.1 | 21.3 |
| Had insulin fills, %‡ | ||||||||
| 1–89 days | 5.3 | 4.7 | 3.6 | 5.1 | 9.7 | 6.8 | 6.1 | 5.0 |
| ≥90 days | 9.3 | 11.4 | 10.1 | 10.0 | 7.7 | 11.7 | 7.5 | 5.8 |
| HbA1C tests, n (%)‡ | 69.6 | 86.6 | 82.1 | 75.6 | 63.9 | 66.6 | 46.1 | 37.2 |
| Eye exams, n (%)‡ | 89.0 | 92.5 | 92.8 | 90.7 | 86.2 | 88.0 | 83.2 | 80.5 |
| Nephropathy tests, n (%)‡ | 38.9 | 50.9 | 48.5 | 43.5 | 34.2 | 34.4 | 23.1 | 14.5 |
| LDL-C tests, n (%)‡ | 66.5 | 81.5 | 77.6 | 70.3 | 60.8 | 61.2 | 44.5 | 39.5 |
| Annual PDC (SD)‡ | 0.58 (0.32) | 0.98 (0.02) | 0.88 (0.07) | 0.60 (0.11) | 0.27 (0.09) | 0.45 (0.11) | 0.21 (0.07) | 0.08 (0.02) |
DCSI diabetes complication severity index, ED emergency department, GA general assistance, LDL-C low density lipoprotein cholesterol, No. number, PDC proportion of days covered, SSI supplemental security income, SD standard deviation, TANF temporary assistance for needy families
*Data reported as mean (SD) unless otherwise stated
†Diabetes was excluded from the calculation of the Elixhauser comorbidity index
‡ P < 0.0001