Coronavirus disease (2019) Treatment costs


The novel coronavirus disease 2019 poses a grave threat to one's health—and also to one's bank account. And some people still fail to realize this as deviants continue to defy the lock-down order especially during the recent holy week. Some have gone to the beach, while others have been caught to be doing cockfighting gambling.

So let's break it down and show you some of the front line numbers to make people think twice. This is not necessarily to scare people but it is one of the realities that we must all face in this global pandemic.

There's a recent report that in metro manila, a patient's private hospitalization bill has reached Php1.44 million in just one week and is still growing.

The standard cost of one test kit is Php8,000. But in some hospitals, patients can now get themselves tested for as low as Php1,500, thanks to the ongoing roll-out of low-cost testing kits made by scientists from the University of the Philippines.

Local governments in the Philippines offer ambulance service for free to residents of their municipalities. But private hospitals may charge you as Php10,000 and some additional costs for use of PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment).

Aside from that, there are costs for Emergency rooms stay, ventilators and then some additional laboratory tests (x-rays, blood tests and others) and pharmaceutical products (syringes, tablets, ..etc..) consumption during treatment. And let's not forget about the cost for ICUs - Intensive Care Units which costs similar to a 5-start hotel overnight stay not including the cost of equipment usage within. Add to that the regular isolation room as well.

Note: The numbers may vary from one private hospital to another and may also be different from the costing from public hospitals. But the actual costs of around Php1 million for treatment is confirmed.

The average costs seems to be at least around Php1 million for "moderate cases" of about a week in treatment, but a recent report surfaced that one patent's bill reached the Php2 million mark.

According to PhilHealth (Philippine Health Insurance Corporation), a patient will not be required to pay the entire amount. But they are shouldering the full cost of treatment for all COVID-19 cases until 14 April 2020 only.

PhilHealth president and CEO Ricardo Morales said that the coverage of expenses for Filipinos diagnosed with COVID-19 are listed in 4 categories with their corresponding case rate. This will be applied to patients admitted in PhilHealth-accredited hospitals beginning April 15 and these categories are:

- Mild pneumonia: Php43,997
- Moderate pneumonia: Php143,267
- Severe pneumonia: Php333,519
- Critical pneumonia: Php786,384

As for testing, persons suspected of having COVID-19 can get themselves tested for free, according to Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III.

Other countries aren't having it easy either. Uninsured Americans with COVID-19 would pay an estimated average range of $30,000 to $70,000 for a 6-day hospital stay.

The Spanish government has nationalized all of its hospitals and healthcare providers in the country in its latest move to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Various countries are racing against time in researching and developing a potential vaccine to combat this global pandemic and as for the cost of that? It’s still unknown.

Other countries may have done some drastic measures, but one thing is for sure, the virus is both deadly to human life as well as our pockets.

For now, all we can do is to wait for the mass testing measures of the PH government and continue to #StayAtHome #DoYourPart #FlattenTheCurve


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Coronavirus disease (2019) Treatment costs Coronavirus disease (2019) Treatment costs Reviewed by Vernon Joseph Go on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 Rating: 5

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