Clinical and Economic Burden of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in a Medicaid Population

Reports suggest that the Medicaid population includes a higher percentage of smokers than the general population. A high prevalence of smokers in a population is likely to lead to a higher burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Few studies have evaluated the economic burden of COPD in a Medicaid population. The objective of this observational, retrospective cohort study is to estimate the economic burden of COPD in subjects with a COPD diagnosis who are enrolled in Medicaid and are receiving maintenance treatment covered by Medicaid.

Specifically, the null hypothesis for the primary outcome measure is that no difference is observed in all-cause costs between subjects with and without COPD. The test hypothesis is that there is a difference in all-cause costs between subjects with and without COPD.

Secondary outcomes to be evaluated include all-cause resource use and COPD-related costs for the COPD cohort.

The study uses a medical and pharmacy administrative claims database called MarketScan Medicaid Database that contains the medical, surgical, and prescription drug experience of nearly 7 million Medicaid recipients. This analysis will use data from 8 states.