Another study of cost-sharing among people with private non-Medicare insurance who were hospitalized for respiratory infections in pre-COVID times suggests out-of-pocket costs could be even higher for them. In part this is because so many private plans have high deductibles that must be paid each year before insurance coverage fully kicks in.
Chua notes that the choice of flu or other respiratory infection hospitalizations is not a perfect stand-in for COVID-19, which is having far more impact on the United States than even the worst flu year. But it is as close a stand-in as possible.
People with traditional Medicare also must share in the cost of their hospital care, but the current study did not analyze data from people with that form of coverage.
In 2018, 40% of Americans lacked enough savings to pay for a $400 emergency, according to federal data. The pandemic has put even more economic pressure on the lowest-income Americans.
Chua and his co-author Rena Conti, Ph.D. of Boston University's Institute for Health System Innovation and Policy, note that worries about out-of-pocket costs might keep some people from seeking emergency or inpatient care. They call for federal legislation mandating insurers to fully cover the costs of COVID-19 hospitalizations for the duration of the pandemic, and for insurers to extend waivers due to expire soon.
Chua, a pediatrician at Michigan Medicine as well as a health care researcher, is a member of the Susan B. Meister Child Health Evaluation and Research Center and the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
The Association of Health Insurance Plans offers a page that tracks private insurers' current policies regarding COVID-19 care, including cost-sharing waivers.
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