Survey says: Insurance companies looking to split COVID costs (Opinion)

As if the government isn't putting enough pressure on people to get the COVID vaccine, now the insurance companies are coming up with another reason to sway you. Money.

Unlike 2020 when the major insurance companies waived cost-sharing for COVID, this year, that's not the case in 2021 as most COVID patients are finding out when they recover from long hospital stays. In fact, according to a ky3/CNN article;

"A Kaiser Family Foundation survey from late August found that “across the two largest health plans in each state and D.C.,” 72% of the health insurance plans were no longer waiving out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 treatment."

So what's the cost of a COVID hospital stay? According to kjrh.com, the average hospital stay for a COVID-19 patient is anywhere from 7 to 10 days. If you must be ventilated, you can expect to spend up to 30 days or more.

For those with health insurance – the price of a hospital stay for COVID-19 care is going to depend on the type of plan you have, but what about those without health insurance?"
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Also from the article, "According to FairHealth, the total average charge per COVID-19 patient requiring a hospital stay is estimated at around $73,300, and the total average estimated in-network amount per insured patient is $38,221".

It's only a matter of time if they're not already doing it until insurance companies will offer you a cheaper rate if you get the COVID vaccine, especially if the government puts pressure on them that they are on you.

I asked both my New Jersey 101.5 audience and Twitter followers if people who didn't get the COVID vaccine should pay more in benefits or be separated from other workers. Here are the results

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Steve Trevelise. Any opinions expressed are Steve's own. Steve Trevelise is on New Jersey 101.5 Monday-Thursday from 7pm-11pm. Follow him on Twitter @realstevetrev.