Billing claims for hospitalized COVID-19 patients shed light on some of the key characteristics of those who are diagnosed with the disease.
To better understand these characteristics, healthcare cost transparency firm FAIR Health analyzed information from its database of more than 31 billion claim records. The organization outlined information on COVID-19 comorbidities, hospitalization charges and where patients were first diagnosed based on billing claims submitted by hospitals to private health insurers. The data are from January through May 2020.
Here are five things billing claims reveal about COVID-19 patients:
1. Nationally, the most common comorbidities for hospitalized COVID-19 patients were chronic kidney disease and kidney failure. They were recorded in 13 percent of all hospitalized COVID patients. Type 2 diabetes was second.
2. The national median charge for a COVID-19 hospital patient was $34,662 for those aged 23 to 30, and $45,683 for those aged 51 to 60.
3. Most often, patients with COVID-19 first presented in a physician's office. Twenty-three percent of COVID-19 patients initially presented to an inpatient facility, and this percentage was higher among older adults.
4. Telehealth was more common for initial diagnosis than the emergency department in the Northeast.
5. From January through May, COVID-19 was most common in the 51-60 age group, accounting for 29.9 percent of claims.
Read the full analysis here.