Economic burden of MS projected to reach $105 billion by 2039

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The economic burden of MS in the United States, estimated to be more than $85 billion in 2019, is projected to rise to $105 billion by 2039, according to a study presented at ACTRIMS Forum.

“Our goal is to increase the urgency amongst policymakers and funders and providers of one aspect of the impact of multiple sclerosis,” Bruce Bebo, executive vice president of research at the National MS Society, said in his presentation.

Bebo and colleagues sought to update estimates of the economic burden of MS in the U.S. and address several limitations within existing literature. They combined the 2019 prevalence of MS with per-capita costs to estimate the national economic burden, for adults aged 18 and older and their caregivers, based on population characteristics.

Assessing direct costs relied on statistics from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, Medicare Standard Analytical File and Optum de-identified Normative Health Information System. These costs reflect the difference in total annual amount paid for MS patients compared with matched controls without MS.

Researchers used CDC mortality data and Medicare claims data to calculate projected future earnings loss due to premature death attributable to MS. Indirect costs linked to productivity losses at work, costs of hiring professional caregivers, home modifications and caregiver burden within families were estimated from a survey of 946 individuals with MS or a care partner.

“As you are all aware, (this disease) strikes predominantly young adults in the prime of life, in the prime of their working lives and can have tremendous impacts on people’s ability to work, tremendous impacts on caregivers’ abilities to work and have tremendous economic impacts,” Bebo said.

Results showed the estimated total economic burden to be $85.3 billion, with direct medical costs as high as $63.2 billion, along with indirect and non-medical costs of $22.1 billion, which included nearly $18 billion for persons with MS and $4.2 billion for unpaid caregivers. The key drivers for non-medical costs were lost earnings due to premature death (38%), presenteeism (28%) and absenteeism (26%).

On average, the excess per capita annual medical cost of MS was $29,253 more than individuals without MS; per capita medical cost was $65,463. For those who were treated with disease modifying therapies, which represents 64% of the total direct medical expense, cost per user ranged from $57,202 to $90,048, depending on gender and age. Data also revealed the average indirect and non-medical cost per person with MS was $22,875 and $18,542 for those with and without a caregiver, respectively.

Based on these findings, Bebo said the projected prevalence of MS in 2039 is 1.1 million —a significant jump from the current estimate of 900,000 — and a projected total economic impact of $105 billion.

“I hope that this helps elevate the urgency amongst health care providers, amongst policymakers and funders to find a solution for MS as soon as possible,” Bebo said.