Millions of costs due to Covid treatment for unvaccinated people - financial burden probably even higher than calculated

The treatment of unvaccinated corona patients costs the health system millions of euros.

That is what the IfW Institute has calculated.

But the numbers could probably be significantly higher.

Kiel - The treatment of unvaccinated Covid patients costs millions.

Economists have now warned of the immense cost to the health system.

As the

reported on Friday, calculations by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW) have shown that the medical treatment of unvaccinated people has incurred costs of at least 120 million euros since July.

Corona: Millions of costs for the treatment of unvaccinated citizens - costs could be even higher

The calculations were based on data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the average inpatient treatment costs for corona patients of 10,200 euros given by the AOK. This results in costs of around 20 million euros for July, 70 million for August and 30 million for the first two weeks of September, which arose from the treatment of unvaccinated adults in hospitals. According to the IfW, the sharp increase in August can mainly be explained by the increased number of infections.

According to the report, the actual costs could be significantly higher.

According to the IfW, this is due, on the one hand, to the subsequent correction of the hospitalization rate by the RKI, which would correct the numbers up by a third after a few weeks on average.

In addition, it could be that the average costs of an inpatient corona illness underestimate the real costs.

In addition, there could be costs that arise from long-term consequential damage.

However, these cannot yet be calculated.

Long-Covid: Rehabilitation and consequential damage put a strain on the health system

According to

the

,

the chairman of the board of the German Hospital Society, Gerald Gaß, also spoke

of high follow-up costs due to a severe Covid illness: "For intensely treated Covid patients, we assume a rehabilitation rate of almost 100 percent." that consequential damage will continue to occupy the health system. There are still no exact data on the further treatment of corona patients. “However, it can be assumed that practically every patient will continue to be cared for by resident doctors after their inpatient stay,” Gass told the

But not only the immediate treatment costs burden the health insurance companies.

"In addition to the costs in the health system, the pandemic continues to cause high economic costs," said Gabriel Felbermayr, President of IfW Kiel, to the

.

“Uncertainty slows down consumption and investment.

If state requirements exist because of the pandemic and people remain fearful, the economic costs are so high that almost every state investment in containment and prevention is worthwhile, ”said Felbermayr.

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