Frequency of endoscopic surveillance for Barrett's esophagus is influenced by health insurance status: results from a population-based analysis

Factors that influence the frequency of surveillance endoscopy for nondysplastic Barrett's esophagus are not well understood. The objective of this study is to assess factors which influence the frequency of endoscopic surveillance for Barrett's esophagus, including health insurance/third-party payer status. Cases of nondysplastic Barrett's esophagus undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy with biopsy were identified using longitudinal data from the Healthcare Utilization Project database in 2005-2006 and followed through 2011. The threshold for appropriate surveillance utilization was defined as two to four surveillance esophagogastroduodenoscopies over a standardized 5-year period. Patients' insurance status was designated as either Medicare, Medicaid, private, or noninsured. 36,676 cases of nondysplastic Barrett's esophagus were identified. Among these, 4,632 patients (12.6%) underwent between two and four surveillance esophagogastroduodenoscopies in 5 years of follow-up versus 31,975 patients (87.3%) who underwent fewer than two esophagogastroduodenoscopies during follow-up. Multivariate analysis found that Barrett's patients insured through Medicaid (OR 1.273; 95% CI = 1.065-1.522) or without insurance (OR = 2.453; 95% CI = 1.67-3.603) were at increased likelihood of being under-surveilled. This study identified a difference in frequency of surveillance esophagogastroduodenoscopy for Barrett's esophagus by payer status. Patients without health insurance and those whose primary insurance was Medicaid were at increased odds for under-surveillance. These data suggest that a more robust system for tracking and ensuring longitudinal follow-up of patients with Barrett's esophagus, with attention to the uninsured and underinsured population, may be needed to ensure optimal surveillance.