Annual prevalence of geographic atrophy and wet age-related macular degeneration among Medicare Advantage enrollees in a US health plan.

Background: Geographic atrophy (GA) is an advanced form of dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) that can lead to visual impairment. Published studies estimate approximately 1 million people in the United States have GA in at least 1 eye. There is a lack of real-world evidence from the US payer perspective on the prevalence of AMD and GA among Medicare Advantage prescription drug (MAPD) plan enrollees.

Objective: To estimate the annual prevalence of GA, wet AMD, and co-occurring GA and wet AMD among MAPD plan enrollees from 2018 through 2021.

Methods: This retrospective, cross-sectional study estimated the prevalence of GA and AMD based on Medicare Advantage enrollee claims data. Individuals aged 65 years and older who had continuous enrollment throughout each calendar year constituted the denominator for each annual prevalence calculation. Enrollees with at least 1 medical claim with a diagnosis code for GA or wet AMD during each year were identified to estimate annual prevalence for that respective calendar year.

Results: The total number of patients in the denominator was 2,175,803 (2018); 2,445,163 (2019); 2,680,322 (2020); and 2,905,366 (2021). The annual prevalence of GA was 0.56% (2018), 0.55% (2019), 0.48% (2020), and 0.51% (2021). The annual prevalence of wet AMD was 1.2% (2018), 1.3% (2019), 1.2% (2020), and 1.3% (2021). The prevalence of GA was highest among individuals classified as White race (annual range 0.61% to 0.71%) and among patients with GA aged 75 years and older (range 0.95% to 1.11%). The proportion of patients with GA with co-occurring wet AMD was 25.6% to 28.0%. The annual prevalence of advanced AMD (GA or wet AMD) was 1.6% to 1.7%.

Conclusions: In the Medicare populations, the prevalence of GA was greatest among patients aged 75 years and older and individuals classified as White race. A substantial proportion of individuals with GA had evidence of co-occurring wet AMD. MAPD plans should evaluate how their membership may be impacted by the recently approved medications for the treatment of GA.