Comparison of utilization and total medicare fee-for-service expenditures for subcutaneous versus intravenous versions of a select group of therapies.

Comparisons of subcutaneous (SC) and intravenous (IV) delivery of biotherapeutics in Europe have revealed differences in cost, convenience, and preference. In the US, claims-based studies comparing SC and IV delivery have been limited. This study compared resource utilization and expenditures between cohorts of patients receiving the same drug by the SC or IV route of administration (ROA) across several indications. Medicare Fee-For-Service claims were compared between cohorts of patients who received SC- or IV-delivered abatacept, belimumab, daratumumab, infliximab, tocilizumab, trastuzumab/pertuzumab, or vedolizumab. For each drug, utilization rates and healthcare expenditures per service site were compared between ROAs. Observed differences in baseline characteristics were accounted for using Inverse Probability Treatment Weighting models that balanced pre-index differences between ROAs per drug. Each ROA comparison per drug and service site was weighted and conducted independently. Across seven drugs, a total sample size of 158,632 (72,820 IV; 85,812 SC) was analyzed. For most comparisons, high-spend sites were utilized at a higher rate for IV administration. In particular, all comparisons revealed more frequent hospital outpatient department utilization for the IV ROA. For five of the seven drugs, SC treatment was associated with lower mean total Medicare expenditures, with savings of up to $56,000 per patient annually. Although three SC treatments had higher medication index spend, the total spend for these drugs across sites was significantly lower for SC delivery. Limitations of this study include differences in billing between the SC and IV ROAs, potential treatment selection bias, and the assumption of equivalent efficacy. To our knowledge, this study was the first and largest US Medicare claims analysis, comparing patients receiving SC or IV versions of the same therapeutic across multiple drugs and indications. Findings demonstrated that SC delivery may facilitate reduced resource utilization and expenditures across drugs and disease indications.