Insurance Coverage for Phototherapy for Vitiligo in Comparison to Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis

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Fabiana Castro Porto Silva Lopes
The University of Texas at Austin / Dell Medical School, Division of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Austin, TX, USA

Ammar Ahmed
The University of Texas at Austin / Dell Medical School, Division of Dermatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Austin, TX, USA

Keywords

Vitiligo, phototherapy, coverage, insurance

Abstract

Objective: To compare in-office phototherapy and home phototherapy insurance coverage for vitiligo with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.


Methods: Information about phototherapy coverage in Texas was extracted via web search.


Results: Vitiligo is the only disease analyzed for which multiple insurances explicitly stated they do not cover in-office phototherapy, and it is also the least covered for home phototherapy. Moreover, more insurances have more prerequisites to cover phototherapy for vitiligo than they do for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.


Conclusions: Our results show that insurance coverage of phototherapy in Texas varies widely and that, compared to patients with psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, patients with vitiligo face higher insurance coverage barriers for phototherapy. As phototherapy is a safe and effective vitiligo treatment, efforts to produce greater parity in coverage between vitiligo and other dermatologic diseases are warranted.

References

1. Mohammad, T.F., Al-Jamal, M., Hamzavi, I.H., Harris, J.E., Leone, G., Cabrera, R., et al. The Vitiligo Working Group recommendations for narrow-band ultraviolet B light phototherapy treatment of vitiligo. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2017;76(5), 879-888. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2016.12.041.

2. Dillon, J.P, Ford, C., Hynan, L.S., Pandya, A.G. A cross‐sectional, comparative study of home vs in‐office NB‐UVB phototherapy for vitiligo. Photodermatol Photoimmunol Photomed. 2017;33(5), 282–283. doi:10.1111/phpp.12326.

3. Smith, M.P., Ly, K., Thibodeaux, Q., Bhutani, T., Nakamura, M. Home phototherapy for patients with vitiligo: challenges and solutions. Clin Cosmet Investigat Dermatol. 2019;12, 451–459. doi:10.2147/CCID.S185798.

4. Kemény, L., Varga, E., Novak, Z. Advances in phototherapy for psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2019;15(11), 1205-1214. doi:10.1080/1744666X.2020.1672537.

5. Ahmed, A., Leon, A., Butler, D.C., Reichenberg, J. Quality-of-life effects of common dermatological diseases. Semin Cutan Med Surg. 2013;32(2), 101–9. doi:10.12788/j.sder.0009.

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Published
May 6, 2022
DOI https://doi.org/10.25251/skin.6.3.6

Article Details

How to Cite
Castro Porto Silva Lopes, F., & Ahmed, A. (2022). Insurance Coverage for Phototherapy for Vitiligo in Comparison to Psoriasis and Atopic Dermatitis. SKIN The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine, 6(3), 217–224. https://doi.org/10.25251/skin.6.3.6
Issue
Vol. 6 No. 3 (2022)
Section
Research Letters
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