The effects of reimbursement reform of antidiabetic medicines from the patients’ perspective – a survey among patients with type 2 diabetes in Finland

BACKGROUND: In Finland, the reimbursement rate for antidiabetic medicines other than insulins was lowered from 100 to 65% at the beginning of 2017. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of this reform experienced by patients with type 2 diabetes. The objective was also to explore if socio-economic status affects this experience. METHODS: The data were collected by conducting a survey among Finnish adults with type 2 diabetes (n = 603). The baseline survey was conducted in November–December 2016. A second follow-up survey was conducted at the end of 2017 where the participants’ experience of the reimbursement reform was surveyed with an open-ended question. Free-form inductive content analysis was used to categorize the answers. The association between the participants’ characteristics and reporting an effect caused by the reimbursement reform was studied with binomial logistic regression. RESULTS: 285 (47.3%) participants reported an effect of some kind caused by the reimbursement reform. The most common reported effects were economic effects (32.7%) and annoyance (12.4%). Having financial difficulties in purchasing antidiabetic medicines (odds ratio (OR) 5.20, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 2.99–9.06) or not having annual deductible exceeded (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.19–3.95), and use of certain antidiabetic medication groups at baseline were associated with reporting an effect. Socio-economic status was not associated with the likelihood of reporting an effect. CONCLUSIONS: Almost half of the participants with type 2 diabetes reported an effect, most commonly economic effects, such as increased expenditure or difficulty in purchasing medicines, after the reimbursement reform. It is important to study the effects of reimbursement reforms also from the patients’ perspective.