Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention: Reducing Out-of-Pocket Costs for Cardiovascular Disease Preventive Services for Patients with High Blood Pressure and High Cholesterol

The Community Preventive Services Task Force (CPSTF) recommends interventions that combine reduced patient out-of-pocket costs (ROPC) for medications to control high blood pressure and high cholesterol with additional components aimed at improving patient–provider interactions and patient knowledge. These additional components could include, for example, team-based care with medication counseling and patient education. Evidence shows that when these 2 types of interventions are combined, they improve medication adherence and blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes. CPSTF didn’t find enough evidence to support ROPC for behavioral counseling or behavioral support services independent of reducing patient costs for medications.