Large increase seen in insulin use, out-of-pocket costs for type 2 diabetes

Largely attributable to the widespread adoption of insulin analogs, use of insulin among patients with type 2 diabetes increased from 10% in 2000 to 15% in 2010, and out-of-pocket expenditures per prescription increased from a median of $19 to $36, according to a study in the June 11 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a diabetes theme issue.

Insulin analogs are molecularly altered forms of insulin. Compared with human synthetic and animal insulin for treatment of type 2 diabetes, short-acting analogs may offer flexible dosing and convenience, long-acting analogs less nocturnal hypoglycemia, but both at greater cost, according to background information in the article.

Kasia Lipska, of the Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues used data from an administrative claims database of privately insured enrollees from throughout the USA (but with more representation from states in the South and Midwest) to examine trends in insulin use, out-of-pocket expenditures, and severe hypoglycemic events among privately insured US adults with type 2 diabetes. The analysis included adults 18 years or older with at least two years of continuous plan enrollment between January 2000 and September 2010.