Inequities in Unexpected Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care in the United States

Unexpected out-of-pocket (OOP) costs for preventive care reduce future uptake. Because adherence to service guidelines differs by patient populations, understanding the role of patient demographics and social determinants of health (SDOH) in the incidence and size of unexpected cost-sharing is necessary to address these disparities. This study examined the associations between patient demographics and cost-sharing for common preventive services.

This cross-sectional study used a national sample of insurance claims for recommended preventive services provided to privately insured adult patients between 2017 and 2020. The relationships between patient demographics and OOP costs were adjusted for service type, insurance type, geographic location, and time trends using regression analysis. Analyses were conducted in 2024.

The sample included 1,736,063 unique preventive care encounters of 1,078,010 individuals. Among preventive encounters, 40.3% resulted in OOP costs. Lower-educated patients had 9.4% (OR=1.094; 95% CI=1.082, 1.106) higher odds of incurring OOP costs than patients with college degrees. Low-income patients (annual household income of $49,999 or less) had 10.7% (OR=0.893; 95% CI=0.880, 0.906) lower odds of incurring OOP costs than high-income patients. Conditional on incurring costs, lower educated patients paid $15.07 (95% CI= -$15.24, -$14.91) less than higher educated patients, and low-income patients paid $11.76 (95% CI=$11.58, $11.95) more than high-income patients. Significant differences across racial and ethnic groups were observed.

The likelihood and size of OOP costs for preventive care varied considerably by patient demographics; this may contribute to inequitable access to high-value care.