Findings from Tufts Medical Center in Psoriatic Arthritis Reported (Coverage of Specialty Drugs for Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis by Commercial Insurance Companies): Autoimmune Diseases and Conditions – Psoriatic Arthritis

Health Policy and Law Daily

2022 JUN 02 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Health Policy and Law Daily -- Current study results on psoriatic arthritis have been published. According to news reporting out of Boston, Massachusetts, by NewsRx editors, research stated, “Specialty medications provide effective treatment with limited adverse effects to patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis; however, variable coverage and high costs often create a barrier to treatment for patients with commercial health insurance.”

The news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Tufts Medical Center: “We aimed to evaluate coverage of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis specialty medications by commercial insurance companies. We compiled data regarding specialty drug coverage for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis using Tufts Medical Center Specialty Drug Evidence and Coverage (SPEC) database and analyzed the data for any notable trends. The SPEC database lists coverage decisions for 158 specialty drugs by 17 of the largest US commercial health plans, as well as data regarding the types of evidence cited by these insurance plans when making coverage decisions. Our results showed that insurance plans tend to be more restrictive than the U.S. Food and Drug Association (FDA) label when covering medications for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Furthermore, medications for psoriatic arthritis tended to be less restricted than for psoriasis, and medications were most commonly approved as second line agents for both indications.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “Our analysis confirms that variability in insurance coverage exists for the indications of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.”

For more information on this research see: Coverage of Specialty Drugs for Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis by Commercial Insurance Companies. Journal of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis, 2022. The publisher for Journal of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis is SAGE Publications.

A free version of this journal article is available at https://doi.org/10.1177/24755303221101843.

Our news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Christine Learned, Department of Dermatology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA, United States. Additional authors for this research include Sara Alsukait, Kristin R Fiumara, Melissa Ortega, James D Chambers, David Rosmarin.

ORCID is an identifier for authors and includes bibliographic information. The following is ORCID information for the author of this research: David Rosmarin (http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2786-0708).