COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on health expenditure

Abstract

Objective: The large-scale spread of <i>COVID-19</i> has led to a burden on the national healthcare financial system. This study assessed the medical cost of <i>COVID-19</i> hospitalizations and its effect on national health expenditures in Korea and investigated the factors that affected the cost of hospitalization for <i>COVID-19</i> patients.Methods: A total of 23,812 <i>COVID-19</i> patients were reported as of September 30, 2020. 18,854 cases of <i>COVID-19</i> hospitalization were claimed by The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service with a total of 14,283 inpatients.Results: From January to September 2020, the total cost of treatment for hospitalized <i>COVID-19</i> patients in Korea was 79,277,000 USD. The mean cost per case was 4,284 USD (IQR, 649-5,257). Medical costs were high in the elderly, those with severe symptoms, medical aid beneficiaries, and those who died during treatment. The mean length of hospital stay of <i>COVID-19</i> patients was 17.3 days (IQR 9-23) and was high in women, the elderly, medical aid beneficiaries, and patients in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk provinces. The differences in medical costs between sex, age, insurance, region, treatment result, and length of stay groups according to severity were significant for all variables. Moreover, the mean costs per case and per day were higher in medical aid beneficiaries than those subscribed to health insurance (P<.05).Conclusion: In Korea, the medical cost for treatment of <i>COVID-19</i> patients was low compared to that of other countries, as well as the treatment cost for the H1N1 influenza in Korea. Factors affecting the medical cost of <i>COVID-19</i> treatment included age, severity, type of insurance, and treatment results. Additional follow-up studies that also include the cost of screening and quarantine in the analysis of medical costs are necessary.