The Kaiser Family Foundation has determined that the cost to the U.S. health system in June and July amount to $2.3 billion as a result of hospitalization of unvaccinated people. Based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC and other available sources, it was estimated that in the months of June and July, 37,000 and 76,000 preventable hospitalizations occurred respectively. The average cost of hospitalization as a result of uncomplicated COVID amounted to $20,000 per case. The analysis did not take into account outpatient treatments, life costs of mortality nor the cost accruing to COVID infections spread by unvaccinated individuals. On August 25th Delta Airlines stated that the average cost to treat a case of COVID among their employees since the inception of the pandemic amounted to $50,000.
The cost of treating unvaccinated people is born by taxpayer funded programs and private insurance premiums that obviously will soar to compensate for health cost that were not predicted prior to 2020. Currently the Affordable Care Act prohibits insurers from claiming higher premiums on unvaccinated people, but it is evident that this situation must change. This is especially the case now that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has received permanent approval by the FDA.
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CDC data from Los Angeles County in May through July, demonstrated that unvaccinated people were five times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized than vaccinated peers. The sharp increase in the cost of treating unvaccinated patients between June and July suggests that even higher costs will be incurred in August due to the increase in number of cases requiring hospitalization following the emergence of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. Vaccination is a public health issue not a political or freedom concern. Unvaccinated people represent a risk of hospitalization and death not only for themselves but also for their families and the community independently of the financial burden on the healthcare system and society.
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IC treatment may cost
up to $250,000
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