News: Average complex COVID-19 hospital stay cost insurers $320 thousand
The average cost billed to private insurances for a complex COVID-19 hospitalization was $317,810, according to new data from FAIR Health. Alternately, the average estimate allowed amount for in-network providers for a complex COVID-19 hospital stay was $98,139—meaning the average cost for a complex stay was more than three times greater than the allowable amount.
For a general COVID-19 hospitalization, the average charge amount was $74,591 with an average estimated allowed amount of $33,525. Alternately, for COVID-19 non-hospitalization cases, the average charge amount was found to be $2,557 with an estimated allowed amount of $1,008.
COVID-19 hospitalization with complexities includes:
- Laboratory tests
- Durable medical equipment, such as ventilators
- Blood and blood components
- Treatments and specialty drugs
- Radiology
- ICU room and board
- Outpatient and provider services (follow-up office visits, lab tests, radiology services, echocardiography procedures, immunology procedures, and transfusions)
General hospitalization for COVID-19 includes:
- Laboratory tests
- Radiology
- Room and board
- Treatments and specialty dugs
- Outpatient and provider services (follow-up office visits, lab tests, immunology procedures, radiology services, echocardiography procedures, and oxygen and respiratory equipment)
Non-hospitalization COVID-19 cases include:
- Laboratory tests
- Radiology
- Office visits
- Cardiography procedures
FAIR Health plans to launch a free COVID-19 cost tracker in October 2021 using data from this report to allow viewers to see state-level cost estimates for the three categories mentioned above.
Editor’s note: The FAIR Health data can be found here.