The annual per patient cost of immunosuppressive medications for transplant recipients is highly variable, and poorly understood.

Since 1993, insurance actuaries have periodically published estimates of the costs associated with maintenance immunosuppression for all types of transplant recipients. These published reports have been reviewed and serve as the basis for this descriptive analysis.

Early attempts by insurance actuaries to estimate immunosuppressive medications costs were crude. Over time, definitions have improved and estimation procedures have been refined. As shown in the following table, per patient immunosuppressive drug costs associated with most transplant procedures nearly doubled between 1993 and 1999 (all figures have been adjusted for inflation, and are expressed in 2012 dollars).

Medication costs for abdominal transplants were highest in 2005 and 2007, with a substantial reduction in 2011. A similar trend is observed for lung transplants, but not for heart or heart-lung transplants.

Immunosuppressive medications are expensive, with cost variations due to many factors, some of which are poorly understood. While per patient annual costs have declined for some transplant procedures, they remain a major concern for many transplant recipients. In some cases, insurance coverage is an issue and, as a result, non-adherence has become a problem, leading to the needless loss of grafts and, in some cases, lives.

« Back to 2013 American Transplant Congress