Direct Medical Costs Associated With Post–COVID-19 Conditions Among Privately Insured Children and Adults

Details

• Journal Article:
  Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD)
• Personal Author:
  Pike, Jamison ; Kompaniyets, Lyudmyla ; Lindley, Megan C. ; Saydah, Sharon ; Miller, Gabrielle
• Description:
  Introduction ; SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has caused more than 100.2 million infections and more than 1 million deaths in the US as of November 2022, yet information on the economic burden associated with post–COVID-19 conditions is lacking. We estimated the possible economic burden associated with post–COVID-19 conditions by comparing direct medical costs among patients younger than 65 years with and without COVID-19 in the postacute period. ; Methods ; Commercially insured children and adults with a COVID-19 diagnosis (cases) during April–August 2020 were matched to those without COVID-19 (controls) on a 1:4 ratio. Direct medical costs represented 1-, 3-, and 6-month total expenditures per person starting 31 days after the diagnosis date. We used a 2-part model to evaluate cost differences among individuals with and without COVID-19, adjusted for patient characteristics. ; Results ; Costs were higher among cases compared with controls. Direct medical costs among child cases were 1.82, 1.72, and 1.70 times higher than controls over 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. Direct medical costs among adult cases were 1.69, 1.54, and 1.46 times higher than costs among controls over 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. Relative differences in costs were highest among adults aged 50 to 64 years. In a subset of people with COVID-19, costs were higher among hospitalized cases compared with nonhospitalized cases. ; Conclusion ; Our findings suggest a considerable economic burden of COVID-19 even after the resolution of acute illness, highlighting the importance of prevention and mitigation measures to reduce the economic impact of COVID-19 on the US health care system.
• Subjects:
  • Adult
  • Humans
  • Child
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Health Expenditures
  • Insurance, Health
  • Health Care Costs
• Source:
  Prev Chronic Dis. 2023; 20
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd20.220292
• ISSN:
  1545-1151
• Pubmed ID:
  36757854
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9923935
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  20
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/150975/cdc_150975_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 438.74 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Preventing Chronic Disease
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5b9a6319852a4d3d43dffd190893785d053a3b554c5f37f755b4f3670509617d611df2d55d8ba9d0bee89107bd5a71c1d24ac9cfba7dbe4b40827874103b502c