Thread by @DavidLat

THREAD. How much does treating a serious case of #COVID cost? Here’s a (partial) figure.

First, a pleasant surprise regarding #HealthInsurance - how often does that happen? My insurer, @UHC, has waived cost-sharing for #COVID19 TREATMENT (not just testing):

https://twitter.com/uhc/status/1244957111559356417

I logged into @UHC today and found a slew of Explanations of Benefits (EOBs) with a nominal total cost of more than $320,000 for my #COVID19 hospitalization. Bills are still coming in, so that’s not a final figure.

#coronavirus #Covid_19 #COVID #healthcare

But under “You May Owe” on the EOBs, I saw $0, $0, $0 - i.e., @UHC isn’t hitting me with any co-pays for #Covid19 treatment. I was prepared/expecting to shell out my out-of-pocket max ($6,000 in-network, $12,000 out-of-network).

#coronavirus #COVID

(One minor annoyance: my visit to the @nyulangone ER the day before I was admitted wasn’t coded as #Covid19, so I may have to appeal that $2,000 charge to me. I had #COVIDー19 then, #coronavirus symptoms brought me to the ER that day, etc.)

Now, as we all know, there’s an arbitrary, “funny money” quality to the nominal charges of #healthcare providers. Mega-insurers like @UHC negotiate big “discounts,” ultimately paying much less than “sticker price.”

#covid #Covid_19 #coronavirus

But EOBs do show @UHC paid @nyulangone and its #healthcare providers at least $165,000 in real money for my #COVID19 treatment - which included 17 days in hospital, intubation, 6 days in ICU on a #ventilator, multiple specialists, etc.

#coronavirus #Covid_19

Now, $165K might seem like a good amount of money, but #covid19 actually hasn’t been good for hospitals financially; @nyulangone projects losses of $450M/month from increased expenses/lost revenue thanks to #Covid_19.

#coronavirus

bit.ly/3bgyk2r

Then I wondered: why would a for-profit enterprise like @UHC waive patient cost-sharing? Don’t they want my $6,000?

1. PR and peer pressure: they acted after @Aetna and @Cigna made big announcements of this policy at the @WhiteHouse.

bit.ly/2ziUjJ0

2. And @UHC can afford to do this:

(a) They made $5 billion in profit in Q1 2020. That’s profit, not revenue, in a quarter, not a year.

nyti.ms/2YJIGW4

#coronavirus #covid19 #Covid_19

(b) As a result of #coronavirus - which took over hospitals, prevented folks from seeking non-emergency medical treatment, kept people home/safe/out of trouble - @UHC will have much lower expenses for NON-#Covid19 care.

#Covid_19

nyti.ms/2YJIGW4

For now, my bottom line:

1. I’m extremely grateful to have received great treatment for #Covid19 (thanks @nyulangone).

2. I’m extremely grateful to have health insurance cover pretty much all of it (thanks @UHC).

#coronavirus #Covid_19 #COVID

P.S. I’ll write/tweet more about my #covid19-related #healthcare costs later, after I’ve had a chance to dig through the EOBs, all the bills have come in, etc. These are just a few initial comments.

#coronavirus #COVID #COVIDー19