Health Economics
Working with RTI International, CDC is conducting cost-effectiveness studies using
a lifetime simulation model to assess the costs and benefits of various CKD care
and prevention interventions. The model will be used to predict the development,
progression, and complications of CKD, and will also test the effectiveness of
various public health interventions. CDC cost-effectiveness studies have found
that CKD screening should target people aged 50 years or older with diabetes or
high blood pressure. It is not cost effective to screen people who are not at high
risk for CKD.
Also with RTI International, CDC started an economic study on the direct and
indirect costs of CKD. These studies will be very important in making health policy
decisions about CKD, as it has become one of the most costly diseases in the
Medicare budget.