Puerto Rico registers an increase in covid-19 cases 3:43
(CNN) -
Covid-19 hospitalizations in unvaccinated people cost the US health system $ 2.3 billion in June and July alone, a figure that's likely an underestimate, according to a Kaiser analysis. Family Foundation (KFF) released Friday.
KFF examined various sources, including CMS data and private claims analysis, to find that the average cost of a COVID-19 hospitalization was around $ 20,000.
They used data from Health and Human Services and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to find the number of preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations in the US in the months of June (37,000 preventable hospitalizations) and July (76,000 preventable hospitalizations).
"If each of these preventable hospitalizations costs about $ 20,000, on average, that would mean that these preventable hospitalizations have largely already cost the US healthcare system billions of dollars since the beginning of June," says the analysis.
For this estimate, they looked at those who were hospitalized primarily due to COVID-19 and adjusted that number to reflect the fact that even if unvaccinated adults had received the vaccine, it would not prevent 100% of hospitalizations.
They then multiplied the number of avoidable hospitalizations by the cost of each hospitalization, using a typical cost of $ 20,000.
"Based on our estimates, described below, we found that preventable COVID-19 cost the US healthcare system $ 2.3 billion in June and July 2021," the analysis reads.
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However, they note that "this approximate figure is probably an underestimation of the cost burden on the health system for the treatment of COVID-19 among unvaccinated adults."
KFF gives some reasons for this, including that cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have continued to rise in August, the costs of outpatient treatment were not included in the analysis, and neither were the costs of spreading the virus from the unvaccinated to those who were. they took protective measures.
The cost of treating the unvaccinated is borne not only by patients but also by society at large, KFF says, including taxpayer-funded public programs and private insurance premiums.
Patients only pay a small portion of the cost of hospitalization directly themselves, the analysis says.
Insurers are also prohibited from charging higher premiums to unvaccinated individuals by the Affordable Care Act and other laws, although employers may impose higher costs through wellness programs.
Private insurers have also started to reestablish cost-sharing for COVID-19 hospitalizations, KFF says, and adults can largely avoid these costs, as well as serious illnesses, by receiving a vaccine, which is free.
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"Although, of course, there is a societal cost to developing and distributing vaccines, vaccines save the US healthcare system money in the long run by avoiding costly hospitalizations," said KFF.
“In addition to the avoidable direct monetary costs for treating unvaccinated people, the reopening of schools and economic recovery are also affected as the increase in COVID-19 cases continues to put Americans at risk of serious diseases. avoidable and even death ”.
Covid-19