Key Points from the article:
- Clinical guidelines for moderate to severe inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis have moved away from a step-up therapy approach towards favoring biologics as a first-line option for inducing remission.
- Despite the shift in treatment guidelines, insurance coverage in the United States often doesn’t align with these recommendations.
- Researchers, led by Dr. Kelsey L. Anderson from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, examined publicly available policies from the top 50 US insurance companies regarding four biologics and one small molecule drug used in treating Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis.