New Findings Link Prescription Migraine Medication Claims Rejections and Emergency Department Use for People with Migraine

The Headache & Migraine Policy Forum to present a new data analysis at the American Headache Society’s 65^th Annual Scientific Meeting.

AUSTIN, Texas, June 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Prescription medication rejections by payers were associated with higher emergency department use for migraine, new data analysis from the Symphony Health database and The Headache & Migraine Policy Forum found. The data analysis, which will be presented at the American Headache Society’s 65^th Annual Scientific Meeting on Saturday, suggests that the connection is especially pronounced among communities of color. 

“These findings reveal multiple levels of racial and ethnic disparities in migraine care in the US. Black and Hispanic patients were by far the most likely to have prescribed migraine medications rejected by payers which was associated with significantly higher rates of ED use for migraine. This failure to adequately care for patients of color is unacceptable and needs to be remedied,” stated study co-author, Dawn C Buse, Clinical Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY.

The newly released data analysis suggests that migraine prescription medication rejection rates and migraine-related emergency department use are correlated. Racial and ethnic disparities also deeply impact both rates of medication rejection and rates of emergency department use for migraine.

Key findings from patients with two or more migraine prescription medication rejections within the three-year study window:

• African American/Black patients had the highest rates of prescription migraine medication rejection rates followed by Hispanic patients, Asian patients than white patients.
• When compared to white patients, African American/Black patients were 23.5% more likely to have one or more emergency department visit for migraine.
• African American/Black patients with two or more migraine prescription claim rejections were 23.5% more likely than white patients with two or more migraine prescription claim rejections to have one or more emergency department visits for migraine.

“Using the ED for migraine care is a red flag that treatment is not optimized. Rates of denials for coverage of prescribed acute and preventive migraine therapies were associated with greater rates of at least one visit to the ED for migraine for all participants, with the greatest burden on Black and Hispanic patients,” stated study co-author, Richard B Lipton, MD, Professor of Neurology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, NY. 

These findings provide insights into challenges with obtaining medications prescribed for migraine including higher emergency department use for migraine and the disparities and access problems that are faced especially by people of color. Policymakers and health care providers should use these findings to fill gaps in care for people living with migraine.

“These new data confirm that people living with migraine are disproportionately high users of the emergency department for migraine, a direct effect of the lack of adequate access to care and treatment by insurers. It is even more troubling to learn that this problem is exacerbated within communities of color,” said HMPF Executive Director Lindsay Videnieks. “Insurers must provide better coverage of prescribed preventative and acute forms of treatment to keep costs down for patients and the healthcare system and prevent further pain and suffering to patients.”

Data were compiled and analyzed by Symphony Health for three observation years. The analysis included claims data from 2019 through 2021 for over 2.1 million people diagnosed and treated for migraine.

About HMPF

The Headache & Migraine Policy Forum is a 501 c 4 that works to advance public policies and practices that promote accelerated innovation and improved treatments for headache and migraine patients.

SOURCE The Headache & Migraine Policy Forum