
The national medical costs of treating patients living with COPD in the U.S. is projected to increase to $60.5 billion by 2029. That’s nearly double the $31 billion that was spent on COPD in 2019.
That’s according to research published earlier this year in CHEST. Researchers from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine, the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, Northern Arizona Pulmonary Associates and AstraZeneca looked at data from the 2016 to 2019 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey and the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System — along with population projections from the U.S. Census Bureau — to generate their projections. In total, more than 4,100 people living with COPD in the U.S. were included.
Of the $31 billion cost for patients with COPD in 2019, more than half were incurred by female patients (54.6%) and those over the age of 65 (55.6%). Florida, Texas and California were found to have the highest economic burden associated with COPD, while Washington, D.C., Alaska and Wyoming had the lowest.
The researchers wrote that these regional differences in per-patient costs “could be a signal of extensive differences in access to medical services and quality of care.”
In addition to the direct spending on COPD, the researchers also found that the costs attributed to COPD and broader related conditions are projected to increase from $82 billion to $150 billion by 2029.
“These cost estimates, especially for those associated with related conditions, highlight the complexity of patients with COPD,” the researchers wrote. “Payers, providers and policy developers need to recognize the challenges of these patients and ensure that their COPD management is optimized for their condition.”