Health care use, medical costs rose in year after COVID-19, study finds

Adults infected with COVID-19 experienced greater health care use and medical costs the following year – even if they were not hospitalized and were otherwise healthy.

“As evidenced by resource use in the post-acute phase, COVID-19 places a significant long-term clinical and economic burden among U.S. individuals, even among patients whose acute infection did not merit hospitalization,” according to a new study by a Pfizer-based research group.

Researchers examined medical records of 3,792 adults from ages 18 to 64 who were diagnosed as having COVID-19 in April and May of 2020. They compared health care use and costs before and after infection among three groups – people who weren’t hospitalized; those who were hospitalized without intensive care unit admission; and those who were admitted to the ICU.

Among the previously healthy adults, health care burden in the year following COVID infection increased in all subgroups, even in those who hadn’t been hospitalized.

• The greatest increases involved new blood-related diagnoses, which increased more than 150% compared to the baseline period.
• New diagnoses for neurologic and psychological conditions also increased following COVID infection.
• Respiratory disease declined 27% but were offset by a large rise in chronic respiratory conditions.
• Healthy adults had a 123% increase in endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases and a 76% increase in digestive conditions.
• Researchers observed an increase in prescriptions for hormone medications, especially ones to treat joint stiffness and muscle pain, as well as vascular and musculoskeletal agents.

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Costs also were higher after COVID infection compared to the baseline. Even among those who were not hospitalized, inpatient visit costs during the post-acute phase increased by 578%, outpatient visit costs increased by 139% and total medical costs increased by 138%.

“Our data suggest that the health and economic burden of COVID-19 stretches well beyond the acute phase of illness, even among younger individuals without preexisting conditions whose acute infection did not merit hospitalization,” the study concluded. “Understanding the nature and extent of post-COVID conditions, as well as the unique populations at risk, is critical to evaluating the true societal cost–benefit of interventions such as COVID-19 vaccination and treatment.”