The association between insurance coverage for insulin pen needles and healthcare resource utilization among insulin-dependent patients with diabetes in China

Table 4 Estimated Diabetes and Insulin-related Healthcare Utilization and Expenditures, by PN Reimbursement Status

	Patients with PN Reimbursement (N = 142)	Patients without PN Reimbursement (N = 258)	p-value*
Resource Utilization in Prior Six Months
Number of Diabetes-related Outpatient Visits During Prior Six Months^a
Mean (SD)	2.65 (2.8)	2.50 (2.4)	0.2228
Median (Q1, Q3)	1 (0, 6)	2 (0, 5)	0.2228
Any Diabetes-related Hospital Stay During Prior Six Months (% yes)^a	13 (9.2)	45 (17.4)	0.0234
Daily Insulin Dose (in Units)
Mean (SD)	29.18 (13.7)	34.97 (20.3)	0.0264
Median (Q1, Q3)	29.5 (18.0, 38.0)	30.0 (20.0, 44.0)	0.0264
Daily Insulin Dose per kg of Body Weight
Mean (SD)	0.45 (0.2)	0.50 (0.3)	0.0414
Median (Q1, Q3)	0.43 (0.28, 0.58)	0.46 (0.28, 0.65)	0.0414
Costs in Previous Six Months (reported in 2015 RMB)
Diabetes-Related Outpatient Costs^b
Mean (SD)	1105 (1160.5)	1040 (1006.9)	0.5576
Median (Q1, Q3)	416 (0, 2497)	832 (0, 2081)	0.5576
Diabetes-Related Hospital Costs^b
Mean (SD)	773 (2717.0)	1589 (4231.8)	0.0388
Median (Q1, Q3)	0 (0, 0)	0 (0, 0)	0.0388
Insulin Costs^b
Mean (SD)	1328 (624.4)	1591 (922.9)	0.0025
Median (Q1, Q3)	1342 (819, 1729)	1365 (910, 2002)	0.0025
Reported OOP Costs
Mean (SD)	1226 (933.3)	2217 (2079.1)	< 0.0001
Median (Q1, Q3)	995.5 (679, 1580)	1761.9 (891, 2937)	< 0.0001
Total Diabetes-Related Costs
Mean (SD)	4432 (3376.3)	6433 (5147.2)	< 0.0001
Median (Q1, Q3)	3850 (2135, 5388)	5075 (3441, 7576)	< 0.0001

*Differences in continuous variables were tested using Wilcoxon Rank Sum tests and categorical variables (any diabetes-related hospital stay) using χ² tests; p-values < 0.05 were considered significant
^aValues represent outpatient visits and hospital stays during the past 6 months
^bUnit costs: 1) insulin costs 0.25 RMB per unit; 2) outpatient/ER visits are 374.1 RMB per visit; 3) and hospital stays are 6581 RMB per stay
BMI Body mass index, DM Diabetes mellitus, kg Kilogram, OOP Out-of-pocket, PN Pen needle, Q1 Lower 25th percentile, Q3 Upper 25th percentile, SD Standard deviation

ISSN: 1472-6963