Session: Methodological Issues in Cost of Illness Estimation: An Application to Heart Disease and Stroke (Medical Care Section Solicited Session #3)


Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

4241.0: Tuesday, December 13, 2005: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM

Oral

Methodological Issues in Cost of Illness Estimation: An Application to Heart Disease and Stroke (Medical Care Section Solicited Session #3)

Cost of illness estimation is a cornerstone of evidence-based policy-making. Cost of illness estimates help identify the burden of particular diseases, how that burden is likely to change over time, and the policies that are needed to prepare for those changes. As a component of cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analyses, they contribute evidence for identifying effective treatment and prevention programs. Cost of illness estimates can be developed using a range of methodologies (e.g., prevalence-based vs. incidence-based estimates; allocation of costs based on diagnoses vs. econometric approaches to estimating attributable costs; direct vs. indirect costs) and data sources (e.g., claims vs. survey data). This session will provide an overview of methodologies and data sources that can be used to develop cost of illness estimates and will present applications to cardiovascular disease. Specific topics will include: 1. Overview of cost of illness estimation methodologies and data sources, including their strengths and weaknesses. 2. Estimates of Medicaid costs for cardiovascular disease applying an econometric approach to Medicaid claims data. 3. Estimates of Medicaid costs for cardiovascular disease applying an econometric approach to Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) data. 4. Estimates of Medicare costs for cardiovascular disease applying a cost-allocation methodology to Medicare claims data. These papers will also address issues such as state and local variation in costs of cardiovascular disease, as well as cost of illness differences by age, gender, and race/ethnicity. In addition, we will contrast the cost of illness estimates obtained using these varying methodologies.

Learning Objectives: 1. Identify differentmethodologies for calculating cost of illness estimates. 2. Describe different data sources that are appropriate for developing cost of illness estimates. 3. Describe applications of the methodologies to heart disease and stroke.

Organizer(s):

D. Orenstein, PhD

Presider(s):

D. Orenstein, PhD

2:30 PM

Overview of Cost-of-Illness Approaches and Data Sources