Long Covid medical bills average $9,500 in first six months: study

Long Covid results in $9,500 in total average medical costs for workers and their employers within six months of a diagnosis, according to research by Nomi Health.

Long Covid is a chronic disease that can carry potentially disabling symptoms, which can last for months or years. This can impact anyone who has a first Covid-19 infection, regardless of age or health.

Up to 30% of Americans who contract Covid have developed long-term symptoms; this means that up to 23 million Americans have been affected, according at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The associated medical costs largely result from doctor visits, hospital stays, and an increased likelihood of prescriptions for steroids, antibiotics, and respiratory medications, among others, according to the Nomi Health study.

Long Covid patients are “health system vagabonds,” said Mark Newman, CEO and co-founder of Nomi Health. “They’re like nomads through the healthcare system, trying to figure out ‘What’s wrong with me?'”

The health system analyzed 20.3 million claims for reimbursement for 4.7 million workers with health insurance in the first half of 2022.

Its estimate of medical costs only takes into account workers with a long diagnosis of Covid.

But getting a diagnosis can be a long and expensive process for many people. There is no test that tells patients if they have long Covid, meaning doctors often only conclude someone has it after a battery of tests ruling out other ailments. Since a cure remains unknown, treatment usually focuses on ongoing symptom management.

“There are diseases and conditions with a lot of obvious answers, and for a long time Covid was not one of them,” Newman said.

In a separate study, Harvard University economist David Cutler estimated that the long Covid costs patients $9,000 a year in medical bills. As with Nomi’s estimate, Cutler’s is a total cost before taking into account health insurance cost sharing and any out-of-pocket limit that may apply.

Patients with long Covid racked up $9,000 in additional average medical costs per person compared to similar people who had Covid but had no subsequent long-term symptoms, Nomi Health found.

Medical fees are not the only financial cost the afflicted might suffer. For example, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people are estimated to be out of work or have reduced hoursresulting in loss of earnings.

Nomi Health found that employees with long-term Covid are 3.6 times more likely to be absent from work for medical reasons.

“This is an ongoing tax and burden on our society that we will have to deal with for decades to come,” Newman said.

Cutler at Harvard University felt, based on confirmed Covid cases, this long Covid would be cost the US economy $3.7 trillion rising medical expenses, falling incomes and declining quality of life. That total cost equals that of the Great Recession, Cutler said, which before the pandemic-era recession was the worst recession since the Great Depression.

There are a few considerations that may help manage the financial fallout of the long Covid.

“It’s so painful when you have an illness and all of a sudden you don’t have any money,” Caroline McClanahanCertified Financial Planner and Physician, told CNBC.

Workers who are not yet sick should enroll in disability insurance programs during their open enrollment period at work, if their employer offers the benefit, McClanahan said.

This can provide a financial buffer if someone has to be away from work for a short or extended period due to long Covid. These group policies offer low-cost guaranteed coverage, but there are often exclusions and limitations that are worth considering.

People should also be aware when choose a health plan. For example, some plans carry lower monthly premiums but have larger deductibles and other costs, as well as a smaller network of physicians available to patients. Conversely, plans with higher monthly premiums may have smaller deductibles and out-of-pocket limits. and a larger list of specialists available to them, perhaps without a referral from a primary care physician. Leaving the network of a mutual can lead to significant costs.

Health plans with larger networks of doctors and specialists can serve a long Covid patient well, said McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Fla., and a CNBC member. Advisory Board.

“There are so many variables you have to consider,” she said.

Certain aspects of health care, such as prescription drugs, cost more through insurance, which means it may be beneficial for someone to shop around and use resources such as GoodRx, McClanahan said. For example, a drug for $100 through insurance might cost $4 through the right pharmacy using a GoodRx coupon, she said.

While it’s generally not a good idea to draw down retirement savings early, there are tax-efficient ways for patients to consider withdrawing money from an Individual Retirement Account if they have need funds, McClanahan said. It can be helpful to talk to an accountant about these options, she said.

For example, an investor under age 59.5 generally owes a 10% penalty tax in addition to income tax when withdrawing money from an IRA.

However, there is a exception to this 10% penalty in certain cases involving significant and unreimbursed medical expenses. Those people would have to document their medical expenses and would still have to pay income tax on that IRA withdrawal, McClanahan said.