Thanks to the efforts of the people throughout the country, especially the frontline anti-epidemic heroes, China’s epidemic situation has been effectively controlled: At 12 o’clock on March 16th, the existing confirmed cases in 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities were cleared. It is not easy to achieve this achievement, but the “epidemic” of the war has not completely passed, and we cannot relax our vigilance.
According to Professor Zhang Wenhong, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University, according to the current global epidemic situation, it is almost impossible to end the epidemic this summer.
The article points out that if the epidemics in Italy and Iran continue to evolve in depth, the risk of COVID-19’s cross-annual epidemic will increase. The article also emphasizes that China is facing huge risks of control and import in the next stage.
With more imported cases, we not only bear the risks, but also collectively bear the huge treatment costs! In this case, Beijing and Shanghai took the lead in expressing their stance: People who like to import medical cases overseas who are not enrolled in medical insurance should, in principle, be borne by individuals.
For overseas returnees, we generally have two policies:
Those who have participated in the basic medical insurance will be diagnosed as COVID-19 cases and suspected cases during their return to China. The medical expenses incurred will be reimbursed in accordance with the relevant provisions of the basic medical insurance before financial subsidies are provided. Individuals do not need to bear the related costs. For those who have not participated in the basic medical insurance and were diagnosed as imported COVID-19 cases or suspected cases during the return and entry process, the medical expenses incurred shall in principle be borne by the patient.
Those who have participated in commercial insurance can pay the corresponding fees according to the contract stipulations of commercial insurance.
The medical expenses incurred by the identified difficult personnel shall be in accordance with the relevant provisions of the laws and regulations of the Law on Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, and medical assistance.
We know that Chinese citizens are free to test and treat COVID-19, and also provide accommodation and meals for free, but in many foreign countries, the cost of treatment is at their own expense.
01. Let’s first look at the testing costs in the United States
A US test for COVID-19 virus costs approximately US $ 3,500 (24,469 yuan). Insurance reimbursement may require individuals to pay approximately 50% of their own expenses. Light testing requires so much money, let alone the cost of treatment.
This is a significant burden for most low- and middle-income workers in the United States. The poor, the bottom people, the whole family went to check if they could be bankrupt.
What’s more, the supply of test kits is insufficient. Even if there is money, the government may not have enough human and material resources to provide a sufficient number of tests. So come and go, forget it! Therefore, some time ago, the United States itself did not know how many people got COVID-19!
On March 1, someone initiated a petition on the White House petition website, hoping that the relevant departments would conduct a free test. However, such expensive expenses cannot be provided by ordinary local institutions.
However, on March 12, the CDC of the United States Centers for Disease Control could not withstand the pressure of public opinion, and director Robert Redfield said for the first time that he would pay for the detection and treatment of new coronavirus for uninsured Americans.
This allows more Americans to conduct tests to effectively screen for confirmed cases. As of 7:00 pm, March 16, Eastern Time, a total of 4,629 confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported in the United States, with 90 deaths and 48 cures.
02. Chinese testing and treatment of COVID-19 are free, and accommodation and meals are also provided free of charge
China is the first country in the world to declare the bottom of all “COVID-19” patients.
On January 22, the National Medical Security Administration and the Ministry of Finance issued a notice on “Medical protection for pneumonia outbreaks of new coronavirus infections.” After the aid is paid according to regulations, the personal burden will be financed.
For suspected patients, the government shall formulate financial subsidy policies, and the central government shall provide appropriate subsidies as appropriate.
It can be said that China’s policy of benefiting the people allows more patients to be treated and recovered in the shortest time, which allows us to control the development of the epidemic at a faster rate.
Later, our neighbours South Korea and Japan also took free treatment of their citizens.
In addition to free testing and treatment of COVID-19 for citizens of Chinese nationality, for those patients of foreign nationality, if he lived and lived in China before diagnosis, in the spirit of humanitarian assistance, we also implement free treatment for them.
I have to say that the motherland is really strong and we are really happy!
03. If it is not free, how much does it cost to cure COVID-19 in China?
In fact, this is not a fixed amount, because the patient’s condition is different, such as minor, severe, critically ill, etc. If the patient has other conditions, the medication and treatment methods will be different, and the treatment methods in different places in different hospitals are not the same. The same, so it is difficult to count how much it costs a COVID-19 patient to cure. But there are probably no specific data.
1) The cost of treating mild patients is around 10,000 yuan
According to the information released by the People’s Government of Jilin Province on February 18, the first patient diagnosed in Changchun had a total medical expenses of 10,234.12 yuan during hospitalization, of which medical insurance reimbursed 5,162.63 yuan, and the remaining 5,071.49 yuan was financed by financial aid. Of course, this does not estimate the cost of investment in other areas, such as protective clothing, disinfection supplies, and investment in medical personnel.
2) The cost of treating severe patients is more than 100,000 yuan, using ECMO will be an astronomical figure
The severely ill patients with COVID-19 need to be admitted to the ICU, and more severely, they need to use ECMO (outer membrane lung oxygenation).
The cost of ICU for a day ranges from 3,000 to 10,000, because ICU beds not only use ventilators, ecg monitoring, anesthesia machines, oxygen systems, infusion pumps, defibrillators, etc., but also a set of central monitoring equipment that controls the whole world, and various Kind of bedside inspection equipment. If the calculation is based on 5000 yuan per day for a 20-day treatment cycle, it will start at least 100,000 yuan.
If you use ECMO, it will be even more expensive. The startup fee alone will be 50,000, and it will cost 20,000 yuan per day.
In this epidemic, China has indeed done too much for the people. This reduction alone has saved a lot of families. Otherwise, just for the medical expenses, many families will be out of breath. The mild one or two thousand is okay. In severe cases, the cost is more than 100,000, and the cost of ECMO is more than 400,000. No matter which family it is in, it is a heavy burden.
In addition, if you are unfortunately infected with COVID-19, in addition to the “official protection” from the government, the various commercial insurances you usually buy can also come in handy.
At present, there are already more than 50 insurance companies in China, hundreds of thousands of insurance products, and infection with COVID-19 is covered. Some people are wondering: Since the cost of diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 has been borne by medical insurance and finance, can it still be used for commercial medical insurance?
Still there. For example, if the patient does not meet the medical standards for using immunoglobulins, he wants to use immunoglobulins to boost treatment and enhance the body’s immunity. At this time, commercial insurance is useful.
In addition, some patients with COVID-19 may require long-term care after treatment, and it is necessary to carefully observe whether there are sequelae … This may also incur costs. These expenses can be reimbursed by commercial medical insurance. So, commercial insurance allows you to get better protection on the basis of the original.
After experiencing this epidemic, many people finally understand the disease and tomorrow they really do n’t know which one will come first. Although the cost of the treatment of this new type of coronavirus pneumonia is borne by the country, in retrospect, in our lives, we are not alone in this time’s disease and accidental risks. When the epidemic passes, how should we face those who cannot escape? risk.
In this age of frequent accidents and diseases, the ability to resist risks is the bottom ability of a family. There is no permanent stable work and no absolutely lucky life. And insurance is our highly leveraged financial tool to resist risk, so we should all know how to configure appropriate insurance protection to hold an umbrella for our loved ones.