The Cost of Control: Cost- effectiveness Analysis of Hybrid Closed-Loop Therapy in Youth

OBJECTIVE Hybrid closed-loop (HCL) therapy is an efficacious management strategy for young people with type 1 diabetes. However, high costs prevent equitable access. We thus sought to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of HCL therapy compared with current care among young people with type 1 diabetes in Australia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS A patient-level Markov model was constructed to simulate disease progression for young people with type 1 diabetes using HCL therapy versus current care, with follow-up from 12 until 25 years of age. Downstream health and economic consequences were compared via decision analysis. Treatment effects and proportions using different technologies to define current care were based primarily on data from an Australian pediatric randomized controlled trial. Transition probabilities and utilities for health states were sourced from published studies. Costs were considered from the Australian health care system's perspective. An annual discount rate of 5% was applied to future costs and outcomes. Uncertainty was evaluated with probabilistic and deterministic sensitivity analyses. RESULTS Use of HCL therapy resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of Australian dollars (AUD) $32,789 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained. The majority of simulations (93.3%) were below the commonly accepted willingness-to-pay threshold of AUD $50,000 per QALY gained in Australia. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the base-case results were robust. CONCLUSIONS In this first cost-effectiveness analysis of HCL technologies for the management of young people with type 1 diabetes, HCL therapy was found to be cost-effective compared with current care in Australia.

Automated summary

The study found that HCL therapy was more cost-effective than current care for young people with type 1 diabetes in Australia. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was AUD $32,789 per QALY gained, with the majority of simulations falling below the willingness-to-pay threshold of AUD $50,000 per QALY gained. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the results were robust.