Racial, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Inequities in Access to Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion

Abstract

Background Inequitable access to high‐technology therapeutics may perpetuate inequities in care. We examined the characteristics of US hospitals that did and did not establish left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) programs, the patient populations those hospitals served, and the associations between zip code–level racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition and rates of LAAO among Medicare beneficiaries living within large metropolitan areas with LAAO programs. Methods and Results We conducted cross‐sectional analyses of Medicare fee‐for‐service claims for beneficiaries aged 66 years or older between 2016 and 2019. We identified hospitals establishing LAAO programs during the study period. We used generalized linear mixed models to measure the association between zip code–level racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic composition and age‐adjusted rates of LAAO in the most populous 25 metropolitan areas with LAAO sites. During the study period, 507 candidate hospitals started LAAO programs, and 745 candidate hospitals did not. Most new LAAO programs opened in metropolitan areas (97.4%). Compared with non‐LAAO centers, LAAO centers treated patients with higher median household incomes (difference of $913 [95% CI, $197–$1629], P=0.01). Zip code–level rates of LAAO procedures per 100 000 Medicare beneficiaries in large metropolitan areas were 0.34% (95% CI, 0.33%–0.35%) lower for each $1000 zip code–level decrease in median household income. After adjustment for socioeconomic markers, age, and clinical comorbidities, LAAO rates were lower in zip codes with higher proportions of Black or Hispanic patients. Conclusions Growth in LAAO programs in the United States had been concentrated in metropolitan areas. LAAO centers treated wealthier patient populations in hospitals without LAAO programs. Within major metropolitan areas with LAAO programs, zip codes with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic patients and more patients experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage had lower age‐adjusted rates of LAAO. Thus, geographic proximity alone may not ensure equitable access to LAAO. Unequal access to LAAO may reflect disparities in referral patterns, rates of diagnosis, and preferences for using novel therapies experienced by racial and ethnic minority groups and patients experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage.

Keywords

• atrial fibrillation
• ethnic groups
• fee‐for‐service plans
• left atrial appendage occlusion
• Medicare
• racial groups