7 recent research findings from payers

Payers use claims data, member demographics and more to uncover new findings. 

Here are seven recent studies from payer companies, covering drug adherence, care outcomes, meal benefits and more. 

1. About two-thirds of patients who take popular weight loss drugs end their regimen within a year, according to a Prime Therapeutics study. Prime, a pharmacy benefit manager owned by 19 Blue Cross Blue Shield companies, analyzed pharmacy and medical claims of 4,255 patients who took GLP-1 receptor agonists — such as Ozempic and Wegovy — for weight loss in 2021. The study found only 32 percent of patients continued their weight loss treatment after one year.
   
   
2. Nearly half of Medicare Advantage beneficiaries report having at least one health-related social need, a survey of over 300,000 Humana Medicare Advantage enrollees found.
   
   
3. Kaiser Permanente reduced rehospitalizations and deaths among Medicare Advantage members 30 days after hospitalizations using meal benefits. A study compared Kaiser Foundation Medicare Advantage members with heart failure and other chronic conditions who received at least two medically tailored meals daily to those who did not receive meals.
   
   
4. Medicare Advantage patients who receive in-home health visits through the Optum HouseCalls program spend less time in the emergency room and inpatient hospital settings, according to a study by Yale Medicine and Optum researchers.
   
   
5. Payers have been required to post pricing information online for covered items and services since July, but several limitations exist to providing the true cost of care to patients, according to research from Elevance Health.
   
   
6. People with long COVID-19 are at higher risk for a number of adverse cardiovascular and pulmonary events, a study from Elevance Health found. Researchers with Elevance's Indianapolis-based Institute for Public Policy published a study comparing commercial insurance claims for people diagnosed with long COVID-19 for a year after diagnoses to individuals never diagnosed with the virus.
   
   
7. Optum patients who are in a two-sided risk Medicare Advantage plan have better health outcomes than patients enrolled in traditional Medicare, according to a study.