(HealthDay News) Many patients were billed for professional and ancillary services related to COVID-19 hospitalizations in 2020, suggesting that insurer cost-sharing waivers did not cover all hospitalization-related care, according to a study published online Oct. 18 in JAMA Network Open.
Kao-Ping Chua, M.D., Ph.D., from University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues estimated out-of-pocket spending for COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States from March to September 2020. The analysis included 4,075 hospitalizations (33.8 percent among privately insured patients) identified from a national claims database (IQVIA PharMetrics Plus for Academics Database).
The researchers found that 71.2% of privately insured patients and 49.1% of Medicare Advantage patients had cost sharing for any hospitalization-related service, including those billed by clinicians. Mean total out-of-pocket spending was $788 for privately insured patients and $277 for Medicare Advantage patients for hospitalizations. For facility services associated with hospitalizations, mean total out-of-pocket spending was $3,840 for privately insured patients and $1,536 for Medicare Advantage patients. For 2.5% of privately insured hospitalizations, total out-of-pocket spending exceeded $4,000 versus 0.2% of Medicare Advantage hospitalizations.
“The findings suggest that out-of-pocket spending for COVID-19 hospitalizations may be substantial if insurers allow cost-sharing waivers to expire,” the authors write.
