Direct Medical Costs Associated With Post-COVID-19 Conditions Among Privately Insured Children and Adults

Introduction SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, has caused more than 100.2 million infections and more than 1 million deaths in the US as of November 2022, yet information on the economic bur-den associated with post-COVID-19 conditions is lacking. We es-timated the possible economic burden associated with post-COVID-19 conditions by comparing direct medical costs among patients younger than 65 years with and without COVID-19 in the postacute period.Methods Commercially insured children and adults with a COVID-19 dia-gnosis (cases) during April-August 2020 were matched to those without COVID-19 (controls) on a 1:4 ratio. Direct medical costs represented 1-, 3-, and 6-month total expenditures per person start-ing 31 days after the diagnosis date. We used a 2-part model to evaluate cost differences among individuals with and without COVID-19, adjusted for patient characteristics. Results Costs were higher among cases compared with controls. Direct medical costs among child cases were 1.82, 1.72, and 1.70 times higher than controls over 1, 3, and 6 months, respectively. Direct medical costs among adult cases were 1.69, 1.54, and 1.46 times higher than costs among controls over 1, 3, and 6 months, respect-ively. Relative differences in costs were highest among adults aged 50 to 64 years. In a subset of people with COVID-19, costs were higher among hospitalized cases compared with nonhospital-ized cases. Conclusion Our findings suggest a considerable economic burden of COVID-19 even after the resolution of acute illness, highlighting the im-portance of prevention and mitigation measures to reduce the eco-nomic impact of COVID-19 on the US health care system.

Automated summary

As of November 2022, SARS-CoV-2 has caused over 100.2 million infections and over 1 million deaths in the US. This study estimated the economic burden associated with post-COVID-19 conditions by comparing direct medical costs among patients with and without COVID-19 in the post-acute period.