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Asthma Return-on-Investment Calculator

Default Values That Are Resident in the Model

The model includes an extensive set of default values that are resident and can be retrieved automatically by the user. The following table documents these reference values for separate components of the model. For example, if you change the type of insurance from "Medicaid" to "Employer-Sponsored Insurance" on the Required Information page, then the model will automatically update the subsequent pages with appropriate default values. Refer to the Technical Guide for a detailed description of the model's structure and the User's Guide for a description of how it works.

An 'x' indicates that, if the user selects a different choice for a component of the model, then the model will automatically retrieve a different set of reference values and populate the model with the new values.

Reference Values Resident in the Model
Components of model

(with user choices)

Demographics of target population1 Asthma prevalence rates2 Utilization & cost with no program2 Program impact3,4
Population type:
  • Medicaid
  • Commercially insured
  • State employees
x x x x
Geographic location:
  • 50 States and DC
  • Nation
  • Census division
x x x
Asthma severity:
  • All asthma
  • Intermittent asthma
  • Persistent asthma
  • Persistent with acute care
n/a x x x
Outcome measures5:
  • Emergency department visits
  • Hospital confinements
  • Outpatient visits
  • Asthma-specific ancillary services
  • Asthma medications
  • Productivity for adults
  • Productivity for children
n/a n/a x x
Scope of service:
  • Only services for asthma treatment
  • All services for people with asthma
n/a n/a x
Cost perspective:
  • Cost to payer
  • Cost to payer and patient
n/a n/a x
Study design of literature:
  • Comparison with a control group
  • Repeated measures
  • Difference-in-difference
n/a n/a x
1 U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey, National Health Interview Survey, Thomson Reuters research databases.

2 Thomson Reuters research databases 2004 and 2005.

3 Literature review.

4 The user controls whether the reference values are retrieved automatically.

5 All outcome measures are always included in the model.