Investigating the Share of Covid-19 Patients from Treatment Direct Costs

A part of the household income in all countries is allocated to health-related expenses.

This study was conducted to estimate out-of-pocket payments for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in southern Iran.

The present descriptive-analytical study was conducted cross-sectionally in 2022. To this end, the financial records of 450 patients with COVID-19 hospitalized in hospitals affiliated with Jiroft University of Medical Sciences were collected. The study settings included six hospitals selected and analyzed using stratified random sampling. The data were collected through a researcher-made checklist and analyzed using t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson's correlation coefficient using SPSS23 software at the significance level of 0.05.

The total direct costs were estimated at 25,208,899,708 Rials Iran (600,211.89 $US), of which 9.37% was the patient's share (2,361,227,375 Rials Iran; 56,219.70 $US). Among the types of services, pharmaceutical services with 50.23% of the patients' share (1,186,031,713 Rials Iran; 28,238.85 $US) accounted for the highest cost of out-of-pocket payments. The length of stay and the type of insurance coverage had a statistically significant relationship with direct payment from patients' pockets (P < 0.05).

Based on the findings, 9.37% of the total direct costs of hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were out-of-pocket. The results of this study confirm the necessity of making decisions about and taking effective measures to reduce the financial pressure of the disease on the patients and their families.