The direct cost of stress urinary incontinence among women in a Medicaid population

ObjectiveTo describe health care utilization and costs for women diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence in a Medicaid population.Study designWe utilized a pooled database of claims for women enrolled in Medicaid in 1 of 3 states. Health care utilization and costs were compared for 12 months before and 12 months after a woman's urinary incontinence diagnosis. Additional analyses utilized data from a fourth state.ResultsOf 13,672 women with diagnosed stress urinary incontinence, average urinary incontinence–related costs were approximately $800 in the 12-month study period, less than 0.1% of total Medicaid spending. Thirteen percent of women underwent a surgery for stress urinary incontinence in the study period, with sling procedures performed most commonly.ConclusionAlthough population prevalence estimates of any stress urinary incontinence symptoms often are high, diagnosis and health care utilization in the Medicaid population is low. Overall costs of stress urinary incontinence treatment in Medicaid currently are minimal. Further efforts to understand the appropriate detection, diagnosis, and treatment of women with stress urinary incontinence are needed.