SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Castlight
Health, Inc. (NYSE: CSLT) today released a COVID-19 Cost Analysis,
which presents the costs of typical services for evaluating
patients seeking care associated with the novel coronavirus,
COVID-19. The analysis finds that costs not only vary dramatically
from city to city nationwide, but also vary widely within the same
city. Costs also vary depending on the source of care, whether it
is a telehealth provider, a primary care doctor, an urgent care
clinic, or the emergency room.
"While the test for COVID-19 may be made available at no cost,
individuals seeking care for suspected COVID-19 may be faced with
other significant out-of-pocket costs for that care. Sadly, those
bills may be coming right as many Americans are losing their
paychecks, creating real affordability of care issues," said
Maeve O'Meara, CEO of Castlight
Health. "Costs vary widely across cities in the U.S., within
cities, and depending on the site of care. During this public
health emergency, it is more important than ever that people have
the tools they need to find high quality care in a timely and
affordable manner."
Although the coronavirus relief measures signed by the President
in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act have directed
private health plans to waive the cost of the specific coronavirus
test and visit associated with it, people who are symptomatic and
seek care may be responsible for other costs required for an
evaluation for COVID-19. These could include influenza
testing, chest x-rays, and bacterial, viral, or blood culture
tests. These costs can add up quickly, particularly for the 27.5
million people with no insurance or those who have high-deductible
health plans and will pay for services out-of-pocket.
The severity of COVID-19 varies widely, from mild cough and
fever, to chest pains and shortness of breath, which can
drastically affect the necessary treatment, need for
hospitalization, and associated costs.
Most notably, the analysis found that:
Within a given U.S. city, average prices vary greatly for
patients exhibiting standard COVID-19 symptoms including fever,
cough, and shortness of breath:
- In Los Angeles, the cost for a
primary care visit and standard lab testing ranges from
$304 to $4447—roughly a 14-fold
difference.
- In Dallas, the cost for the
same services ranges from $193 to
$4308—a 22-fold difference.
- Similarly, in Miami, these
services range in cost from $354 to
$5729—a 16-fold difference.
Costs also vary widely depending on the provider type or site of
care:
- Even without symptoms severe enough to warrant further imaging
or lab testing, a visit to evaluate respiratory symptoms can cost
someone living in the New York
metro area an average of $79 for a
telehealth visit, $235 for a primary
care visit, $352 for an urgent care
visit, and $2,321 for an ER
visit.
- In Miami, patients can expect
costs for evaluating symptoms to average $79 for using telehealth as their entry point,
$189 for visits through a primary
care provider, $483 for visits
through an urgent care provider, and $1,524 if they enter the system through the
ER.
"During this incredibly stressful pandemic outbreak, it is
critical that people have a clear understanding of the care they
need, and how much that care is likely to cost," said Dena Bravata, MD, MS, Castlight Advisor and
former Senior Scholar at the Stanford Center for Primary Care and
Outcomes Research. "Castlight's COVID-19 Cost Analysis sheds light
on the vastly different costs patients seeking care associated with
COVID-19 will see depending on where they live, and where they
choose to receive care."
Methodology
The primary source of data used for this
analysis is a subset of 2.5 billion de-identified medical claims
for primary care, urgent care, emergency room, lab tests, and x-ray
supplemented with:
- Provider directory data (e.g., which doctors provide which type
of care).
- Provider rate sheets.
- Publicly available data.
The costs provided are for a member in their deductible phase
seeing in-network providers. The ranges provided are for the 5th to
the 95th percentile of costs in that metropolitan region.
The components of an evaluation for a patient seeking care
associated with COVID-19 depend on their symptom severity and site
of care. The procedures and services we included are:
- Site of care: telehealth visit, primary care visit, urgent care
visit, ER visit.
- Care for moderate COVID-19 symptoms: initial cost of a provider
visit, influenza test, sputum culture and sensitivity, blood
culture and sensitivity, complete blood count, and comprehensive
metabolic panel.
- Care for severe COVID-19 symptoms: initial cost of a provider
visit, all lab tests listed above, and a chest x-ray.
Click here to download the full report.
About Castlight Health
Castlight is on a mission to
make it as easy as humanly possible for its users to navigate the
healthcare system and live happier, healthier, more productive
lives. Our health navigation platform connects hundreds of health
vendors, benefits resources, and plan designs into one
comprehensive health and wellbeing experience. We guide
individuals—based on their unique profile—to the best resources
available to them, whether they are healthy, chronically ill, or
actively seeking medical care. Castlight transforms the employee
benefit experience into a deeply personalized, yet simple, guided
one, empowering better-informed patient decisions to unlock better
healthcare outcomes and maximizing return on healthcare
investments.
For more information visit www.castlighthealth.com. Follow us on
Twitter and LinkedIn and Like us on Facebook.
Castlight Media Contact:
Courtney Lamie
press@castlighthealth.com
276-492-4248
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SOURCE Castlight Health, Inc.