Orthotic Helmet Therapy for Deformational Plagiocephaly: Stratifying Outcomes by Insurance

Objective Deformational Plagiocephaly (DP) is commonly treated with cranial orthosis, or helmet therapy. A large, national study on the impact of insurance status on helmet outcomes is lacking. We assessed treatment outcomes for helmet therapy based on insurance status. Design This was a retrospective data analysis of patients referred to Cranial Technologies, Inc for helmet therapy between 2014–2020 across 21 states. Patients, Participants There were a total of 211,417 patients referred for helmeting, of whom 141,513 received helmet therapy. Main Outcomes Measures Multivariate regression was used to assess the relationship of insurance status with post-treatment residual flattening, measured by cephalic index (CI) and cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI), and treating provider rating of success. Results Patients with Medicaid were more likely to complete treatment with residual flattening measured by CI and CVAI when compared to patients with private insurance (OR: 1.58, CI: 1.51–1.65, p