The Global Liver Institute (GLI) submitted a comment letter to the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) related to its most recent draft evidence report on obesity.
GLI highlighted the prevalence of obesity in the United States, paralleling rising rates in liver diseases such as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), also known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and its advanced form, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), also known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). These diseases negatively impact our nation’s health and economy, creating significant financial burden exacerbated by the costs associated with MASH/NASH, including inpatient and outpatient care, professional services, emergency department visits, and drug cost, as well as indirect costs, such as lost work productivity and expenses due to caregiving. GLI provided the following recommendations and concerns:
ICER’s response to GLI’s comments were dismissive of the concerns outlined in the letter, View ICER’s responses here.
- ICER’s model must look at liver impacts beyond just cirrhosis;
- ICER fails to differentiate treatments;
- ICER’s artificial budget cap threatens to limit needed access for patients; and
- QALYs are discriminatory and should not be used in value assessment.
ICER’s response to GLI’s comments were dismissive of the concerns outlined in the letter, View ICER’s responses here.
| gli_icer_comments_draft_report_glp-1s_10.6.25.pdf |
