Patient adverse financial outcomes before and after COVID‐19 infection

Abstract

Adverse financial outcomes after COVID-19 infection and hospitalization have not been assessed with appropriate comparators to account for other financial disruptions of 2020-2021. Using credit report data from 132,109 commercially insured COVID-19 survivors, we compared the rates of adverse financial outcomes for two cohorts of individuals with credit outcomes measured before and after COVID-19 infection, using an interaction term between cohort and hospitalization to test whether adverse credit outcomes changed more for hospitalized than nonhospitalized COVID-19 patients. Covariates included age group, gender, and several area-level social determinants of health. Adverse financial outcomes were significantly more common after COVID-19 infection than before COVID-19 infection, with greater increases among those hospitalized with COVID-19(5-8 percentage points) than among nonhospitalized patients (1-3 percentage points).Future work examining longitudinal financial outcomes before and after COVID-19 infection is needed to determine the causal mechanisms of this association to reduce financial hardship from COVID-19 and other conditions.

Adding financial insult to physical injury: Economic impacts of having COVID

“…2 These grim disparities, which manifest at the macro level with greater loss of life expectancy among non-white patients, have also contributed to adverse financial outcomes for patients and their families. 3 In the May 2023 issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, Becker et al 4 and low credit score (42.4% vs. 33.8%). 4 Unfortunately, the data lacked characteristics such as individuals' race, ethnicity, income, and employment status.…”

“…3 In the May 2023 issue of the Journal of Hospital Medicine, Becker et al 4 and low credit score (42.4% vs. 33.8%). 4 Unfortunately, the data lacked characteristics such as individuals' race, ethnicity, income, and employment status. Additionally, the study only examined commercially insured patients, and the only economic measure was the credit score-a metric that misses the experiences of the 1 in 10 US adults who do not have a credit file, a disproportionate percentage of whom are people of color.…”