Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40738299›Full record

ArticleValue in health : the journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research2025

Zero Dollar Copay Pharmacy Benefit Decreases Healthcare Expenditures Among Members With Type 2 Diabetes of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana.

Tiange Tang, Charles Stoecker, Debra Winberg, Miao Liu, Elizabeth Nauman, Mingyan Cong, Eboni Price-Haywood, Brice Labruzzo Mohundro, Alessandra N Bazzano, Lizheng Shi and 1 more

Abstract read
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In one paragraph

Article in Value in health : the journal of the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Tiange TangCelia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Charles StoeckerCelia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Debra WinbergCelia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Miao LiuBlue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
Elizabeth NaumanLouisiana Public Health Institute, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Mingyan CongBlue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
Eboni Price-HaywoodOchsner Clinical School - University of Queensland, New Orleans, LA, USA.
Brice Labruzzo MohundroBlue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, LA, USA.
Alessandra N BazzanoGillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Louisiana, LA, USA.
Lizheng ShiCelia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, LA, USA. Electronic address: lshi1@tulane.edu.
Louisiana Experiment Assessing Diabetes Outcomes (LEAD)-ZDC Working Group

Funding

Tracking & Evaluation CoreU54GM104940 · NIGMS · LSU PENNINGTON BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH CTR · PI JUDD E SHELLITO · 2012 to 2026
$69.1M
NCCDPHP CDC HHS U18 DP006523NIGMS NIH HHS U54 GM104940
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesBlue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana implemented the Zero Dollar Copay (ZDC) program on July 1, 2020. This study aims to evaluate whether the ZDC program can reduce total healthcare expenditures.

methodsBlue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana's medical and pharmacy claims from January 2019 to December 2021 was used in this study, and the index date was July 1, 2020. We identified 7603 continuously enrolled members with type 2 diabetes, including 3045 ZDC-eligible members as the ZDC group and 4558 Administrative Service Only group members as the control group. The primary outcome measure was monthly total healthcare expenditure, which included monthly medical and pharmacy spending. ZDC program's effectiveness was evaluated by a 2-way fixed-effect difference-in-difference regression weighted by odds of propensity scores. The study population was further classified into 3 subgroups based on their baseline use of ZDC-eligible antidiabetic medications: pre-ZDC users, pre-ZDC nonusers, and complex users.

resultsThe ZDC pharmacy benefit was associated with a significant reduction in total healthcare spending of $-121.76 per member per month (PMPM) (P = .002) and medical spending of $-131.50 PMPM (P < .001). For complex users, the ZDC program was associated with reductions of $283.44 PMPM (P = .006) in total healthcare spending and $385.45 PMPM (P < .001) in medical spending, whereas pharmacy spending significantly increased by $102.01 PMPM (P = .022). No significant results were observed for pre-ZDC users and pre-ZDC nonusers.

conclusionsThe ZDC program was effective in reducing total healthcare expenditures among ZDC-eligible members with type 2 diabetes in Louisiana.

Indexed as

Blue Cross Blue Shield Insurance PlansCost SharingDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2Health ExpendituresHypoglycemic AgentsInsurance, Pharmaceutical ServicesAdultAgedFemaleHumansLouisianaMaleMiddle AgedHypoglycemic Agentscopaymentfinancial incentivesfree medication supporthealthcare costmedication adherencevalue-based insurance designZero-Dollar Copay

Identifiers

PMID40738299
PMCPMC12853375

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.