Upticks in respiratory virus activity, especially hospitalizations, are taxing to the nation's healthcare system in terms of both costs and resources.
Respiratory virus metrics, namely COVID-19 and flu admissions, have been rising for weeks. The latest CDC data shows nearly 35,000 COVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals across the country in the week ending Dec. 30 — a 20% jump from the week prior. In the same week, more than 20,000 flu patients were hospitalized. COVID-19 waste water levels — which serve as an early indicator of whether infections are increasing or decreasing — remain high, with experts anticipating larger bumps in admissions throughout the month.
Recent studies and data analyses suggest the nation's virus season is costly for patients and the healthcare system:
A recent study published in JAMA found the price to provide inpatient care for COVID-19 climbed 26% in just two years, reaching more than $13,000 per patient by March 2022. High costs of a treatment known as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for more severe patients is in part what drove up the average costs, according to the findings. Stays that required ECMO had an average per-patient cost of $36,484.
For the week ending Dec. 30, a rough estimate for the cost of care of the nearly 35,000 COVID-19 patients admitted is around $475 million, based on the $13,072 average cost of inpatient care from the aforementioned study. This is a rough estimate Becker's calculated using the data above and does not adjust for other factors.
Out-of-pocket patient costs for inpatient COVID-19 admissions can vary widely among people with large employer coverage, according to an analysis published by Kaiser Family Foundation in November 2022. The analysis was based on data from 2020 and estimated an average of $1,880 in out-of-pocket costs among patients with at least some cost-sharing.
Previous research has estimated annual direct medical costs for the treatment of influenza at about $10 billion.
Findings from a 2021 study estimated annual hospitalization costs associated with respiratory syncytial virus in adults at around $1.2 billion — a conservative estimate as it focused on adults and did not factor in physician fees, costs of continued care, or productivity loss for patients and caregivers.
In 2022, Americans spent nearly $12 billion on over-the-counter cough and cold medications, according to data from Nielsen cited by The Wall Street Journal.