Racial/Ethnic Inequities in Use of Diabetes Technologies Among Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries With Type 1 Diabetes

• Published in: The journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism 2023-07, Vol.108 (7), p.e388-e395
• Main Authors: Kommareddi, Mallika, Wherry, Kael, Vigersky, Robert A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Analysis; Beneficiaries; Blood Glucose; Blood Glucose Self-Monitoring; Blood sugar monitoring; Dextrose; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus (insulin dependent); Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 - drug therapy; Diabetes therapy; Endocrinology; Ethnicity; Glucose; Glucose monitoring; Humans; Infusion pumps; Insulin; Insulins; Medical equipment and supplies industry; Medical test kit industry; Medicare; Medicare Part C; Minority & ethnic groups; Prospective payment systems (Medical care); Race; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Technology application; Type 1 diabetes; Type 2 diabetes; United States - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0021-972X; 1945-7197
• DOI: 10.1210/clinem/dgad046

Abstract Context Racial/ethnic inequities have been observed in diabetes care. Objective To measure changes in prevalence of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) and insulin pump therapy among Medicare Advantage beneficiaries with type 1 diabetes by race/ethnicity and to determine the impact of socioeconomic factors on racial/ethnic inequities. Design The prevalence of CGM and pump use was assessed by race/ethnicity for Medicare Advantage beneficiaries annually from 2017 through 2020. Models predicting technology use by year, race/ethnicity, age, sex, endocrinology visits, and measures of socioeconomic status were fit. Setting Community. Patients or Other Participants Beneficiaries with type 1 diabetes and 2 or more claims with a diabetes diagnosis in the coverage year. Intervention(s) Insulin pump or CGM therapy. Main Outcome Measure(s) Use of diabetes technology by racial/ethnic group. Results Technology use increased from 2017 through 2020 in all racial/ethnic groups. The absolute difference in use between White and Black beneficiaries from 2017 to 2020 remained stable for insulin pumps (10.7% to 10.8%) and increased for CGM (2.6% to 11.1%). The differences in pump use from 2017 to 2020 narrowed between White and Hispanic beneficiaries (12.3% to 11.4%) and White and Asian beneficiaries (9.7% to 6.6%), whereas the opposite occurred for CGM use (3.0% to 15.5% for White vs Hispanic beneficiaries; 1.5% to 8.0% for White vs Asian beneficiaries). Racial/ethnic inequities persisted (P < .0001) after adjusting for other characteristics. Conclusions Differences in diabetes technology use between racial/ethnic groups often persisted from 2017 through 2020 and could not be explained by demographics, socioeconomic status, or endocrinology visits.