On April 1, 2020, Care Bridge International, a data analytics corporation, announced in a Press Release, the launch of its FREE Analytic-Powered COVID-19 Calculator. The calculator was designed to function like a simple mortgage calculator to estimate the true exposure of medical treatment and costs related to COVID-19 medical claims. The agile development began on March 11, 2020 and was tested and made available LIVE to the public within only 14 business days. Magic!
As a public service, Care Bridge International offered this FREE interactive tool for businesses needing to understand the medical exposure associated with a COVID-19 diagnosis for a Workers Compensation or Liability bodily injury claim, or Group health or Medicare/Medicaid claim. The tool was received broadly in the marketplace and used by thousands of public, private, state, federal and charitable organizations, as well as individuals looking to understand the medical impact of COVID19.
One of the biggest challenges insurance companies faced over the past 2+ years was how to effectively handle claims related to COVID-19. For many organizations, this sudden onset of virus-related claims put an enormous strain on human resources, having no prior experience with the virus.
Fortunately, we live in a time where smart technology and intelligent data enables us to be proactive and tackle some of these challenges head on and at scale. Through the careful integration of People, Process, Technology and Data; Care Bridge International can augment the traditional claims team with innovative and intelligent tools that help reduce friction, increase productivity, and create the opportunity for smarter decision making at scale.
What are the Medical Treatment and Costs Associated with COVID-19?
Officially named a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, the novel COVID-19 virus, part of the family of Coronaviruses, has disrupted healthcare and the economy worldwide. Coronaviruses are transmitted between animals and people, but this new strain, not previously known, causes symptoms of fever, cough, and shortness of breath. In severe cases the virus can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), kidney failure and death.1
The highly contagious virus originated in Wuhan, China, and the virus spread rapidly throughout the world, with dire consequences for frail and elderly Americans with comorbid cardio-pulmonary conditions, chronic disease and disability, accounting for 40% of the U.S. population.2 While many people are asymptomatic and recover with minimal, if any care, medical exposure as a compensable workers compensation event, or exposure involving our fragile Medicare and Medicaid populations, remains a continued concern.3
Care Bridge’s COVID19 Medical Exposure Analysis
For mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19, costs were predicted to range between $400 to $3,500 if an individual was seeking care in a Physician’s office, urgent care clinic or Emergency room undergoing diagnostic tests and released with prescription and/ or over the counter medication coupled with home care remedies, such as increased fluid intake and rest.
For individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis of moderate severity, likely to incur outpatient medical expenses, including physician’s office visits, medical testing or medications, the predicted cost was $4,000 – 11,000.
For severe symptoms requiring hospitalization to treat COVID-19 related pneumonia, bronchitis, lower respiratory infection, or life threatening acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), the costs were predicted to increase significantly, involving an average six-day inpatient hospital stay ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 or upwards of $55,000 to $90,000 or more for patients requiring mechanical ventilation. 4
How Did the Analytic-Powered COVID 19 Calculator Compare?
WCIRB (Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau) reported in 2022 that the average medical payment on COVID-19 claims was $6,707 during the first six months of medical treatment, compared with $2,617 for all other claims. For mild infections, average medical payments were $787 on COVID-19 claims compared with an average cost of $2,007 for a mild non-COVID injury. The average medical cost of a severe COVID-19 infection was $30,316, compared with average costs of $32,933 for a severe injury. Critical COVID-19 infections had an average medical payment of $71,717 compared with $91,235 for critical non-COVID claims. Death claims for COVID-19, meanwhile, involved average medical payments of $77,156 compared with average medical payments of $22,099 on non-COVID death claims. 5
NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance) collaborated with nine independent bureaus and 45 different state jurisdictions to analyze COVID-19-related claims presenting its findings in the State of the Line report at the Annual Insights Symposium 2022. The NCCI COVID-19 data was based on approximately $630 million in COVID-19 incurred loss dollars and associated 80,000 COVID-19 claims. The average cost per COVID-19 claim was $7,800.6
Care Bridge International’s Average Predicted Costs in 2020, compared to Actual Industry Results 2022
| Care Bridge International Predicted | NCCI Average COVID Claim Cost $7,800 | WCRIB Actual | |
| Mild | $400-$3500 | $787.00 | |
| Moderate | $4,000 – $11,000 | Not Provided | |
| Severe | $10,000 – $50,000 | $30,316 | |
| Mechanical Ventilation | $55,000 – $90,000 | $71,717 |
Care Bridge International’s Analytic-Powered COVID-19 calculator has proved its predictive accuracy two years later. The year 2022 is a proven testament to the power of Care Bridge International’s capabilities to deliver FASTER, BETTER, and CHEAPER medical forecasts for medical reserve setting, Medicare Set Asides, Medical Cost Projections, and Medical Settlement Valuations. By harnessing dashboard analytic capabilities, our clients improve claim and risk management savings 30%-70% or more in claim cost savings. We look forward to delivering even more magic for you in 2023! To schedule a DEMO, click here now.
For More Information:
Visit Our Website at https://www.carebridgeinc.com
Our Call Toll-Free: 888-434-9326 Ext. 101
Email: Support@carebridgeinc.com
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1 Coronavirus. 2019. World Health Organization (WHO). WorldWideWeb https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus
2Wyatt Koma, Tricia Neuman, Gary Claxton, Matthew Rae, Jennifer Kates, and Josh Michaud. How Many Adults Are at Risk of Serious Illness If Infected with Coronavirus? March 2020. Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). WorldWideWeb http://files.kff.org/attachment/Data-Note-How-Many-Adults-Are-at-Risk-of-Serious-Illness-If-Infected-with-Coronavirus.pdf
3 William Arnone. COVID-19 and Social Insurance. March 16, 2020. National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI). WorldWideWeb https://www.nasi.org/discuss/2020/03/covid-19-social-insurance
4 Matthew Rae, Gary Claxton, Nisha Kurani, Daniel McDermott and Cynthia Cox. Potential Costs of Coronavirus Treatment for People with Employer Coverage (KFF). WorldWideWeb https://www.healthsystemtracker.org/brief/potential-costs-of-coronavirus-treatment-for-people-with-employer-coverage/
5 https://www.wcirb.com/sites/default/files/documents/september_2022_covid_update_brief-ar7.pdf
6www.ncci.com/Articles/Pages/AU_Multi-Bureau-Collab-Report.aspx
