Incremental health care resource utilization, costs, and predictors of high costs in generalized myasthenia gravis

BACKGROUND: The management of patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) is complex and often involves substantial health care expenses. As the treatment paradigm continues to evolve, understanding the economic burden of gMG must also reflect the availability and increasing use of newly approved and advanced therapies in a diverse patient population. OBJECTIVE: To estimate incremental health care resource utilization (HRU) and costs associated with gMG compared with non-MG controls and identify predictors of high health care costs in gMG in an insured US population cohort. METHODS: Adults with newly diagnosed gMG were identified from Komodo Research data (January 1, 2017, to September 30, 2023). Characteristics of adults without MG were weighted using entropy balancing to match the gMG cohort. The index date was the first MG diagnosis by a neurologist for the gMG cohort and a random date for the non-MG cohort. Annual per patient HRU and health care costs were compared between the weighted cohorts. Predictors of high health care costs were evaluated among the gMG cohort using a logistic regression model. RESULTS: < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Despite advances in treatment, the economic burden of gMG remains substantial. Association of high health care costs with early symptoms and disease exacerbations underscores the need for more effective intervention strategies to improve disease control and reduce HRU and costs in patients with gMG.