Unvaccinated COVID-19 Cost US Health System Billions of Dollars

SeaBreeze

SeaBreeze

Endlessly Groovin'
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COVID-19 vaccines have been free and broadly available to adults in all states and the District of Columbia since mid-April 2021, meaning adults in the U.S. have generally been able to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 since late May 2021 if receiving a two-dose vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at preventing severe disease, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.

Despite the availability of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination rates have lagged, particularly in some states and among younger people. As of early December 2021, 17% of adults over the age of 18 in the U.S. remain unvaccinated for COVID-19. These COVID-19 hospitalizations are devastating for patients, their families, and health care providers. The hospitalizations are also costing taxpayer-funded public insurance programs and the workers and businesses paying health insurance premiums. Our recent analysis found that insurers are beginning to reinstate cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, though patients still only pay a small share of the total costs.

In this analysis, we seek to quantify the number of hospitalizations that could have been prevented by vaccination and the total cost of these hospitalizations. We find there were a total of 690,000 vaccine-preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations form June through November 2021. These hospitalizations correspond with the Delta variant surge. (There is still uncertainty around the vaccine’s effectiveness at preventing hospitalizations resulting from the Omicron variant taking hold in December, though early indications suggest vaccination will be protective against severe disease.)
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For anyone who cares, more info in link.
https://www.healthsystemtracker.org...st-the-u-s-health-system-billions-of-dollars/
 

This may be true, however a full accounting like is hard to make. These folks saved us a little money by not using the vaccines, doubt that was taken into account. And it is possible some of these hospitalizations would have happened anyway.

I am vaccinated and believe everyone should be. However people make lots of lifestyle choices that cost us many more billions. Things like smoking, drinking, and poor diet, even reckless driving. I suspect the real cost of non-vaccination driven health cost is lower than these.
 
SeaBreeze said:
For anyone who cares, more info in link.
https://www.healthsystemtracker.org...st-the-u-s-health-system-billions-of-dollars/
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Interesting read
although in the article it states ...........As of early December 2021, 17% of adults over the age of 18 in the U.S. remain unvaccinated for COVID-19.

The number used here shows vaccinated are much higher then figures being said by many government entities so we should celebrate an 83% adult figure with shots .......

very close if not over the first Goal post of herd immunity............ but as we have all seen the goals are moved and changed and the figures also seem all over as last week many stated a 62% of adults .......
It would be nice to see a verifiable % so if at a point we can stop the division and finger pointing ... the Goal as of now seems to be all no matter what ..... why ?
We have not done that with other shots... flu has killed more but the uptake on those often free with insurance is like 20% a year

we did not have people put in a position of proving an exception like religious or medical.
Notes are dismissed they want to research if your church or faith is REAL seriously seen this

while i agree this has caused a great deal of money many of their figures are guesstimates and assumptions.
One could create reports like this all day with insert your conditions..............

I think many will just have to agree to disagree in the way this has gone.
Research in treatments and finding out .....WHY certain people could have an easy time and others not would have been a better use of resources. it is not all the standard co- morbidities that have been used.
 

It has probably saved SS a similar amount.

I agree that it’s hard to put a real cost on something like this. The hospitals and staff must be paid even if the beds are unoccupied.

IMO the greatest cost coming out of this pandemic may be a generation dumbed down by the on again off again public school system over such a long period of time.
 
The cost of the unvaccinated saved us money???
LOL...if you read the article it states that 85% of the billions that it's costing is from the unvaccinated. Even if the percentage is off a few points there is no denying the overwhelming cost of the unvaccinated.
I find the responses here to be more of the ongoing 'heads in the sand'.
Thanks Seabreeze for the very in depth report.
 
I was a bit amazed when the costs of our health care plans didn't rise substantially for 2022. The way this Covid is running rampant had me thinking that our Medicare Advantage plan would go waaay up, but it didn't. However, we are still going to have to prepare for higher medical insurance premiums, at some point, IMO.

I don't know who is absorbing the costs of this pandemic, but there is No Free Lunch. If the government is paying for most of it with it's endless deficit spending, this is just one more thing that will eventually make the Dollar nearly worthless.
 
Don M. said:
I was a bit amazed when the costs of our health care plans didn't rise substantially for 2022. The way this Covid is running rampant had me thinking that our Medicare Advantage plan would go waaay up, but it didn't. However, we are still going to have to prepare for higher medical insurance premiums, at some point, IMO.

I don't know who is absorbing the costs of this pandemic, but there is No Free Lunch. If the government is paying for most of it with it's endless deficit spending, this is just one more thing that will eventually make the Dollar nearly worthless.
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The government must be paying for all the covid-19 hospitalizations. If insurance companies or hospitals were, premiums would have gone way up by now, like you said.
 
I'm not the least bit surprised that younger people in their teens and 20's remain unvaccinated. We all felt invincible in those years, and they are more likely not to be hospitalized with the virus. I don't fault them for their decisions. I just need to make sure I have taken the right steps, being vaccinated and boosted, to account for their decisions.

I was in a mall today in Dallas, waiting to meet my nephew who is in the Navy, and 90% were in big groups not wearing masks. Texas has been hard hit and one of our hospitals recently opened 2 Covid wards. Just stupid if you ask me, but I have been vaxxed and wear my mask so it has become their issue, not mine.

Harsh, I know, but when my partner and I hear about someone who is unvaccinated and has died of Covid we just shrug our shoulders.
 

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