Some pretty gloomy news pops up from insurance providers regarding the novel coronavirus. Fox Business revealed that the majority of private health insurance companies have stopped waiving patients’ fees associated with treatment for COVID-19, as most had done since the early days of the pandemic.
This is what a new study has found.
According to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), “72% of U.S. insurers who previously waived cost-sharing or entirely covered treatment costs have quit doing so and another 10% will be phasing out such waivers by the end of October.”
Insurers are pulling back on the waivers
The same online publication noted that vaccines became widely available in the U.S. and Americans began going back to the doctor. Meanwhile, insurers gradually started pulling back on the waivers.
“The cost of treating someone hospitalized with COVID-19 can reach tens of thousands of dollars or more,” the online publication notes, citing official data.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan told WXYZ-TV that since the pandemic began, the company has paid out $750 million, and around 250,000 of their members paid nothing out of their pocket for the treatments.
“No costs,” BCBSM Senior VP and Chief Medical Officer Dr. James Grant said. He continued and explained the following:
“If you were on a ventilator, you could’ve been there a month, two months, three months, that’s expensive. Sometimes seven-digit care. We waived all the costs.”
Issues about mandatory vaccines arise
Not too long ago, we were revealing that people are questioning important issues, and freedom of choice is one of them. Amidst the pandemic, the necessity of making vaccination mandatory for everyone has already become a spiny subject. CNN is also addressing the issue, as you will see below.
Not too long ago, we revealed that the FDA had approved the Pfizer/ BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine for people age 16 and older.
CNN notes that following this move, it’s time for all governments across the country to mandate the vaccine for people taking part in indoor activities.
