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Using Real-World Data to Estimate the Social Security Costs of Retinal Diseases: Results from the Observatory on Legal Blindness

Abstract

Mennini FS, Trabucco Aurilio M, Russo S, Migliorini R, Massimo Piccioni and Ricci F

Background: Several studies estimates that in industrialized country retinal diseases such as macular degeneration (MD) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), have a particularly high prevalence, causes deterioration in quality of life, with significant social and economic consequences.

This study analyses the data of the Observatory on Legal Blindness to estimate, using real-world data, the average number of beneficiaries and the costs related to Supplementary Security Income (SSI) and attendance allowance (AA) for people with specific forms of DR and MD.

Methods: We used data from the National Institute of Social Security (INPS) database regarding disability insurance awards (DIAs) for SSI and the AA for totally blind (TB) and partially sighted (PB) people from 2012 to 2016.

Results: For MD, we estimated yearly averages of 11,600 AA beneficiaries and 9,100 SSI beneficiaries, with mean costs of €53.9 million and €30.1 million, respectively. For DR, we estimated yearly averages of 3,200 AA beneficiaries and 2,500 SSI beneficiaries, with mean costs of €16.7 million and €8.2 million, respectively. Analyses of the DIAs showed a slight increase in the number PB individuals affected by DM and TB individuals affected by RD and DM.

Conclusions: According to this study, MD and DR involve significant economic and social costs due to their chronicity. This is the first study to estimate the welfare costs of these two groups of visual diseases using data from the evaluations provided by the medical commissions and the benefits paid by the INPS.