Claims related to covid in public health had a cost of 10.8 million euros in 2020, reaching 227 during the period of the pandemic. Those registered in the private sector, on the other hand, had a total cost of 2.6 million euros, reaching the number of 51 claims. Examines the profound effect of the coronavirus with an in-depth analysis on patients and healthcare professionals from all over Italy, the twelfth Medmal report by Marsh, leader in insurance intermediation. The analysis shows that the impact of the health emergency was most evident in the private health sector, where it accounts for almost half of the claims (47.1%) and mainly involves Rsa and structures dedicated to long-term care. Although there are fewer Covid-related claims in the public sector, the average cost of 127.€ 000 per claim is significantly higher than that of the private sector (€ 50,000 on average per claim).
According to the report, due to the pandemic there has been a jump in the number of claims related to covid in the territorial assistance health services, going from percentages close to 0 in previous years up to 14% in the 2020-2021 period. Among the services that have had the greatest impact from the point of view of requests for compensation, also due to the high number of infections in RSA, there are long-term care, which reached 60% of the total requests relating to covid-19. According to Marsh's Medmal analysis, the operating units that have had the greatest impact from the point of view of claims related to the health emergency are, for the public, the emergency room and general medicine, both involved in the total 19% of claims reported.Both from an economic and frequency point of view, the impact of covid claims was greater in the sample of private structures, generating 47% of the total, for a cost equal to 21% of the total of the two annuities considered.
Damage to operator, according to the analysis, is 17.8% of the total in the public, while in the private sector the percentage is significantly higher (29.2%). Furthermore, on the economic level, the average cost of Covid claims in the public regime is around 49 thousand euros, while in the private sector it is around 126 thousand euros. Another aspect that the report explores concerns hospital infections which continue to be a significant problem with serious consequences for patients and for the health system itself. These events, in fact, represent 7.4% of claims - compared to 6.7% in the previous report - with an impact of 8.6% (previously 8.2%) on total costs, with an average cost per case of 126,000 euros. From the analysis it emerges that the "Infections Related to Assistance",the so-called "Ica", in fact, cause deaths in a higher percentage than that observed in the general sample of claims from medical malpractice (17.2% against 12.2%).
A factor that contributes to raising the average cost of claims from infection, which stands at an average cost of 126 thousand euros per individual case, one of the highest in the sample. Clinical risk accounts for over two thirds of malpractice claims in the Italian public health sector, with surgical error in first place (37% of claims), followed by diagnostic (20%) and therapeutic (12%) errors. ). The report also shows the average cost per claim in the public health sector has increased by 7% (following a trend inaugurated in 2011) and now exceeds 100,000 euros per case, with an average settlement of 86,000 euros. The total cost of claims in the public sector for the period 2004-2019 amounts to approximately 1 billion and 461 million euros,of which 53% - or € 774 million - refers to amounts paid to the injured party.
In collaboration with:
Marsh McLennan