COVID-19 Medical Bills: Do you know that the cost of COVID-19 medical bills can cost you millions of dollars? Well, it’s much higher than survivors would have ever expected. There are some cases where these bills have gone as high as 1 million dollars.
“It looks like the medical insurance was billed between $700,000 and a million dollars to date. For us, our portion of it, we are somewhere around $12,000 to $15,000,” said Anil Gharmalkar
If you look at the CDC data in this regard, it would shows the real picture of COVID-19 medical bills. As per the data shown, the average cost of patient who is getting treated for COVID is going to cost somewhere between $20,000-$50,000, as reported by Anil Gharmalkar.
This is what he further stated, “Even if you recover, even if you don’t suffer from long COVID or have long term effects.
Just a couple of weeks, you know, a week in the ICU and a week in the hospital, looked to me
like it ran about a quarter-million dollars,”
The reports also suggests that medical bills for COVID-19 patients are bound to increase by the end of the year even if they are medically insured.
“If you take your chances, and you get ill enough to seek medical attention. Whether it’s the immediate care clinic, the emergency department, or the critical care unit where you’re on a ventilator… If you survive. The cost is staggering even if you’re insured,” as stated by Dr. Tom Moore.
“Since the vaccine has been out for several months now. It’s free and widely available. Many insurers are expecting patients to pay their portion.. and their portion is significantly expensive. Some people are declaring bankruptcy as a result.”
Today, with the peak of such patients, experts have also noticed a peak in the bill amount as well. Such patients are responsible for a more crucial portion of the bill amount. Gharmalkar is not aware if he can afford any sort of future treatment he requires.
“It’s definitely been a discussion… if it’s worth the risk. I don’t mean that just physically. I mean that financially. I pulled out and canceled a few times because I’m petrified that we’re going to do this… and then I’m going to have $200,000 piled on top of whatever because it doesn’t get billed right or insurance doesn’t cover it.”
Gharmalker also states that a vaccine can not only save your life but also your money in the future.
“If you can take away your chance of spending, you know, a week or two in a hospital or a couple of weeks in an ICU bed, or not having a couple $100,000 in medical bills and missed work. It seems like, you know, a very simple cost-benefit calculation. I would have chosen the vaccine knowing what I know now if it was available.”
As per the Kaiser Family Foundation, as many as 3 quarters of most sought health plans are not in the mood of giving any sort of deductions for COVID-19 treatment. Looking at the trend, it seems that a majority of insurance companies will end their waivers by the end of 2021.
Also Read: Coronavirus Symptoms Day by Day in Kids, Old Age & Adults
Source:
//www.kwch.com/2021/09/06/covid-related-medical-bills-can-cost-over-million-dollars/
