Americans are once again facing huge bills for COVID-19 treatment as insurers that previously volunteered to waive out-of-pocket costs rapidly opt out.
A year ago, the vast majority of people in fully insured private plans would have had their treatment completely covered, says the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Today, 72% of the largest insurers are billing again — and another 10% will start billing by the end of October.
With the delta variant on the rise, here’s how you can keep your costs low if you end up needing care.
Why are insurers charging again?
To help stop the spread, the U.S. government ensures COVID-19 vaccines are completely free of charge. The same goes for COVID-19 testing.
This, however, is not true for treatment. While a handful of states demanded insurers waive cost sharing for patients, most of the companies that did so nationwide acted voluntarily.
Insurers may have feared heavy-handed government intervention if they didn’t act first by volunteering, the Kaiser Family Foundation suggests.
Now, with vaccines widely available, insurers may no longer feel as much pressure to pay for illnesses that could have been avoided or reduced in severity by getting jabbed.
Several insurers, like Independence Blue Cross and Medica, are still waiving costs for some plans but will stop by Oct. 31.
How much does COVID-19 care cost?
With waivers quickly coming to an end, patients will need to pay any fees associated with their standard health insurance policy. That means your deductible, coinsurance and copayments plus the cost of any services that aren't covered.
How much can that be? It depends on how severe your illness is.
A woman named Janet Mendez told The New York Times that she spent 19 nights in hospital and needed to use a ventilator. Her medical bills totaled over $400,000, but with insurance she expects to pay under $10,000.
Meanwhile, Casey Gray told CNN that he was hospitalized for 75 days, racking up a whopping $3,400,000 bill. He too ended up paying about $10,000, due to his insurance.
A recent study found those without cost-sharing waivers paid an average of $3,800 out of pocket if they had private insurance and an average of $1,500 if they had a Medicare Advantage plan.
For those with a Marketplace plan, the maximum you can be asked to pay this year is $8,550 for an individual and $17,100 for a family. Some plans have even lower limits.
How to protect yourself
While most out-of-pocket waivers are long gone, there’s plenty you can do to ensure you won’t suffer a mammoth bill on top of getting sick.
If you don’t have insurance, get it
Out-of-pocket costs can be painful, but the damage will be much, much worse if you don’t have coverage at all.