Covid-19 Treatment in India Could Cost a Fortune: This is What the Numbers Show

It is impossible to argue against the fact that the global pandemic has been a real game-changer and the Covid-19 outbreak has changed our way of life as well as our thinking in terms of our healthcare options.

It has always been prudent financial planning to consider health insurance plans for the family but that need has been accentuated by the frightening statistics associated with the threat of Covid-19.

The introduction of a Corona Kavach plan is the Indian health insurance industry’s response to the need for suitable medical cover for you and your family and when you look at what treatment for Covid-19 could cost you can see why it would make sense to have that protection in place.

A change to the healthcare landscape

If you have a typical health insurance policy in place it is standard practice that the cost of consumables used in the treatment of a particular condition or disease would not be covered by a standard Mediclaim-style health insurance policy. Health insurance companies often refer to single-use items used in medical treatments as consumables and because they are not classified as medical items, they are not covered by a standard health insurance policy.

The reason that this matters now as a result of the global pandemic, is that the volume of medical consumables and the cost of these items has risen noticeably with regard to treatment associated with Covid-19.

Average coronavirus treatment bill could easily go up to Rs 500,000 in metro cities.

The increased costs are a direct result of the intensity of treatment required to deal with the virus and the higher number of consumables used in that treatment process.

This means that you will be required to pay for these items even if you have a standard health cover policy unless you have a COVID-19 specific cover.

The use of PPE

It is not just the cost of medical consumables that contributes to the higher cost of treating a Covid-19 patient it is also the requirement for personal protective equipment (PPE).

If you start to itemize the single-use PPE items involved in treating a patient safely, such as gloves, masks, body coverings, shields, and anything else needed to keep you and the medical team safe, you can soon see how the cost of treating the virus becomes more expensive than some other medical scenarios.

Length of stay

Another contributory factor that adds to the cost of Covid-19 treatment is the length of time that you may need to spend in the hospital while receiving treatment.

A typical cost of a hospital room with staffing and equipment can easily add up to Rs 5000 per day and when the patient requires ICU care, the cost can go up to Rs 20,000/day.

With this in mind, it would be a sensible strategy to check what insurance cover is available to you with regard to Covid-19 or you could be facing a medical bill that might easily run into a sizeable figure that blows a huge hole in your savings.