Table 3.
Choice of Initial Diabetes Medication in Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage*
| Metformin | Sulfonylureas (Short) | Sulfonylureas (Long) | Thiodolezinediones | Insulin+ | Other | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TM | MA | Diff | TM | MA | Diff | TM | MA | Diff | TM | MA | Diff | TM | MA | Diff | TM | MA | Diff | |
| Overall | 71.7% | 72.8% | −1.1% | 6.9% | 9.1% | −2.2% | 6.5% | 6.2% | 0.3% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 8.8% | 8.6% | 0.2% | 9.9% | 6.6% | 3.3% |
| Region | + | + | + | + | + | |||||||||||||
| Northeast | 70.3% | 70.3% | 0.0% | 7.5% | 8.8% | −1.3% | 6.2% | 7.0% | −0.8% | 1.2% | 1.1% | 0.0% | 7.7% | 8.6% | −0.9% | 13.1% | 9.7% | 3.4% |
| Midwest | 71.1% | 72.7% | −1.5% | 7.3% | 8.2% | −0.9% | 7.9% | 7.0% | 0.9% | 1.5% | 1.2% | 0.3% | 9.7% | 10.0% | −0.3% | 7.6% | 5.7% | 2.0% |
| South | 70.1% | 72.3% | −2.3% | 6.1% | 8.3% | −2.2% | 7.2% | 7.1% | 0.1% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 10.1% | 8.6% | 1.5% | 9.7% | 7.0% | 2.7% |
| West | 75.5% | 75.4% | 0.1% | 7.5% | 11.4% | −3.9% | 4.6% | 3.5% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 1.7% | 0.2% | 7.1% | 7.7% | −0.6% | 9.5% | 4.5% | 5.0% |
| Plan Age | + | + | ||||||||||||||||
| Established | 71.5% | 72.5% | −1.0% | 7.0% | 8.9% | −1.9% | 6.4% | 6.7% | −0.3% | 1.7% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 8.7% | 8.5% | 0.2% | 10.2% | 6.4% | 3.8% |
| New | 71.8% | 73.0% | −1.2% | 6.9% | 9.3% | −2.4% | 6.5% | 5.7% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 8.9% | 8.7% | 0.2% | 9.7% | 6.8% | 2.9% |
| Plan Size | + | + | ||||||||||||||||
| Small | 71.6% | 72.7% | −1.0% | 7.2% | 8.9% | −1.7% | 6.4% | 6.0% | 0.4% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 0.2% | 9.4% | 9.1% | 0.2% | 9.3% | 7.0% | 2.3% |
| Large | 71.7% | 72.8% | −1.1% | 6.8% | 9.2% | −2.4% | 6.5% | 6.2% | 0.3% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 0.3% | 8.6% | 8.4% | 0.2% | 10.2% | 6.5% | 3.7% |
*
TM estimates are weighted to match MA distributions by age category, sex, race/ethnicity categories, and geography. Differences between TM and MA are statistically significant at the p<.0001 level, except for (+), which was <.01.
Other includes GLP-1 agonists, DPP-4 inhibitors, SGLT-2 inhibitors, Meglitinides, and D-Phenylalanine Derivatives.