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COVID-19 hospitalizations could mean significant out-of-pocket medical costs for many Americans:
For their study, the researchers analyzed out-of-pocket costs for pneumonia and other upper respiratory illness hospitalizations from January 2016 through August 2019 as a potential indicator of likely COVID-19 costs. The researchers found that these out-of-pocket costs were particularly high for so-called consumer-directed health plans -- which typically feature lower premiums, compared to standard plans, but higher deductibles that can be paid via tax-advantaged health savings accounts.
[...] Many big-name health insurers have voluntarily waived out-of-pocket cost sharing for COVID-19 treatment. However, employer-sponsored "self-insured" health insurance plans are not required to adhere to such waivers. Thus, tens of millions of Americans have high-deductible insurance plans that, in cases of COVID-19 hospitalization, may expose them to relatively high out-of-pocket costs.
[...] To get a sense of the likely cost burden on patients hospitalized for COVID-19, Eisenberg and colleagues examined de-identified insurance claims for 34,395 unique hospitalizations from January 2016 through August 2019. They looked at out-of-pocket costs incurred by people who had been hospitalized during the 2016-2019 study period with pneumonia, acute bronchitis, lower respiratory infections, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. (Claims data on actual COVID-19 cases were not available in the database at the time of the study.) The cases examined did not include those for people ages 65 and over, who are normally covered by Medicare. The out-of-pocket costs included deductible payments, copayments, and coinsurance payments.
The researchers found that average out-of-pocket spending for the 2016-2019 study period for these respiratory hospitalizations was $1,961 for patients with consumer-directed plans versus $1,653 for patients in traditional, usually smaller-deductible plans.
The out-of-pocket cost gap was lowest for older patients age 56 to 64, and greatest -- $2,237 vs. $1,685 -- for patients 21 and younger. The analysis was not designed to examine why the cost gap varied inversely with patient age, but one possible explanation proposed by the researchers was that, since younger patients are healthier on average, their hospitalizations may reflect more serious and thus more costly illness.
Journal Reference: Matthew D. Eisenberg, Colleen L. Barry, Cameron Schilling, Alene Kennedy-Hendricks. Financial Risk for COVID-19-like Respi- ratory Hospitalizations in Consumer-Directed Health Plans, American Journal of Preventive Medicine (2020), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.05.008
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @09:54PM (5 children)
No point to hearing unfamiliar info and learning? You just want an echo chamber?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @10:13PM (4 children)
It's not about that at all. There's nothing to learn from lies and bullshit, except that we can now identify those spouting it.
And the ridiculous garbage being spouted above, from under the bridge, is just that.
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @10:19PM (3 children)
Keep giving your money away to insurance companies then... It is only yourself and your family you are hurting.
(Score: 0, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @11:44PM (2 children)
Thanks for your fake concern for me and my family. I'll take that in the spirit it was offered.
And I'll trust my judgement over yours every day of the week, and twice on Sundays.
Because you've made it obvious that I'm much smarter, better read and more articulate than you.
I'm also not espousing ridiculous-on-its-face bullshit.
But please, go ahead and do whatever you want. I'm sure it will lead you to a sorry end, but it will be one of your own making.
I'm sorry that it sucks to be you. No. That's not true. I don't care one whit about you.
Toodles!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday June 16 2020, @11:49PM (1 child)
> But please, go ahead and do whatever you want.
So you dont want to force me to pay scammy insurance companies? Great, I want everyone to make their own decisions too.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday June 17 2020, @04:25PM
That AC doesn't. I do.
Tell you what... You keep buying mandatory insurance until you have enough saved up that I can be assured you will never be a financial burden to my taxes. Let's say $3,000,000. OK. $1,000,000 even in a decent interest-bearing account that you cannot touch for any reason except medical expense. Then I think you don't have to buy insurance anymore. Fair?