Patients with moderate-to-severe psoriasis experience insurance delays to procure biologics for treatment, according to a study published in Archives of Dermatological Research.
Researchers sought to discern whether factors such as race/ethnicity, insurance type, and provider specialty have an impact on patients receiving biologics. To conduct this analysis, they reviewed records on 101 patients from the University of Miami Health System.
Following analysis, the investigators found that the need for a prior authorization was markedly correlated with long waits for biologic treatments. They did not observe a notable difference in wait times based on race, as the average wait time for biologic approval for Whites was 29.7 days compared with 27.2 days for non-Whites. As the researchers noted, biologics were quickly approved (same day) for only 23.7% of health maintenance organization (HMO) carriers and 11.5% of preferred provider organization (PPO) carriers, compared with 63% of Medicare carriers and 40% of Medicaid carriers. Overall, the analysis showed that patients with private insurance experienced the most prolonged wait times, regardless of whether they had a PPO or HMO insurance carrier.
Reference: Vazquez T, Forouzandeh M, Lin D, et al. Insurance delays in the approval of biologic medications for patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis [published online ahead of print, 2022 Nov 14]. Arch Dermatol Res. 2022;10.1007/s00403-022-02457-6. doi:10.1007/s00403-022-02457-6
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00403-022-02457-6
