Cost of Treating Covid: The Ministry of Health last week announced that the National Hospital Insurance Fund will not cover treatment for Covid-19.
Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said it is expensive, unsustainable and impractical for the state-owned health insurer to foot the medical bills of its members diagnosed with the virus. “It is not practical for NHIF and private insurance companies to cover pandemics,” the CS said. So how much does it cost to treat and manage this disease? The treatment of Covid-19 is a costly affair.
According to Ministry of Health Director General Patrick Amoth, patients who are asymptomatic pay Sh. 21,300 per day. Those with slight symptoms such as a mild cough or slight difficulty in breathing pay Sh. 21, 400 per day.
“Those with a mild form of the disease with symptoms such as a mild cough or slight difficulty in breathing cost becomes Sh.21,359 per day while patients with a severe form of Covid-19 who require supplementary oxygen are taken care of at a cost of Sh. 51,684 per day. If you require ICU critical care support including intubation and ventilator support the figure goes to Sh. 71,000 per day,” he said.
Going by these estimates, a patient with severe symptoms put in isolation for a week would be required to pay Sh. 345,870 as hospital bill or for a patient who is critical Sh. 723,576.
Cost breakdown: Building a three bedroom house with Sh. 2.4 million
The bills are broken down to the costs of:
1. Professional care
2. In patient stay
3. Oxygen tank fees
4. Ventilator charges
5. Cost of drugs
6. Cost of PPEs
7. Dialysis
8. Cost of medical equipment and devices
9. Kidney function tests
In private hospitals, though, the figures are way much higher, with reports that patients are being asked to book HDU and ICU beds at a cost of hundreds of thousands before admission. The costs are likely to go even higher a the cases rise and quality private hospitals where adequate care can be provided run out of both space and beds. Cost of Treating Covid.