A projection of the impact of lipid-lowering therapy on high-risk employee disability and medical costs.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the impact of introducing rosuvastatin calcium on direct and indirect costs among patients at high risk for coronary heart disease.

Methods: An economic simulation model was developed to project the number of cardiovascular events and associated direct and indirect costs under varying treatment scenarios.

Results: In an average-sized commercial health plan with 210,000 covered lives and 9,336 high-risk patients, an uptake of rosuvastatin by 11% of high-risk patients would result in eight fewer cardiovascular events, a net savings of 0.85 million dollars in direct medical costs and a net savings of 36,404 dollars in productivity loss over a period of 5 years. The overall reduction in total costs is equivalent to 1735 dollars per rosuvastatin-treated patient.

Conclusions: At current statin prices, the use of rosuvastatin could lead to fewer cardiovascular events and lower direct and indirect costs.