Journal of the American Heart Association, Ahead of Print. BackgroundImproving cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participation is a national priority.
This study examines the prevalence and cost of copays and their relationship with CR attendance and dropout.MethodsWe analyzed the AACVPR (American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation) registry using the AACVPR Data Analytic Center, including patients from 2012 to 2021 with recorded copayment (including 0) while excluding those without this data. The primary outcome was the association between total CR sessions attended and both copay presence and amount, assessed using multivariable models, adjusting for key literature‐based adherence predictors and baseline patient characteristics.ResultsAmong 59 838 patients with copay data, 16 339 (27.3%) had a copay.
The median (interquartile range) copay was $24.00 (20, 34). Medicare, Medicaid, private, and Other insurances charged a median (interquartile range) copay of $20.00 (20–25), $3.70 (3, 12), $30.00 (20–40), and $25.00 (20 to 36), respectively.
Copays were more common in New York and the Northeast and less common in California and the Midwest. The highest copay amounts were observed in South Dakota, Oklahoma, and Connecticut (>$34.00).
Journal of the American Heart Association published a clinical update in Cardiology on 25 Mar 2026.
The item focuses on Association Between Copayments and Attendance in Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Nationwide Analysis From the AACVPR Registry.
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