Hospitalization costs for a single COVID-19 patient requiring long-term treatment could balloon to Rp446 million, an academic from the University of Indonesia (UI) has claimed.
“My survey in nine provinces has revealed that the highest healthcare cost borne by a COVID-19 patient was recorded at Rp446 million,” Prof. Dr. Hasbullah Thabrany, MPH, from UI’s Faculty of Public Health told a webinar organized on the theme of "calculating healthcare costs" here on Monday.
The average healthcare costs for a COVID-19 patient hospitalized for 16 days were recorded at Rp184 million, Thabrany said, adding that the survey covered several thousand patients diagnosed with COVID-19.
On average, COVID-19 patients were hospitalized for 15.4 days, but some ended up spending up to 194 days in the hospital, he informed. The hospitalization costs for patients may range from Rp2.4 million to Rp446 million, he added.
The cost of hospitalization a COVID-19 patient has to bear would depend on the state of his or her health at the time of contracting the infection, he noted adding, the presence of comorbidities could add to healthcare costs.
In view of the high healthcare costs borne by the patients, Thabrany urged community members to remain mindful of the importance of preventive measures and consistently implement the mandated health protocols to break the chain of COVID-19 spread.
The novel coronavirus disease initially struck the Chinese city of Wuhan at the end of 2019 and thereafter spread across the world, including to countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Indonesian government made an official announcement on the country's first confirmed cases on March 2 this year.
The Indonesian government has consistently expressed confidence in the potential of COVID-19 vaccines for helping it win the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has posed a serious threat to public health and the economy.
Over the past few months, the government has made all-out efforts to secure potential COVID-19 vaccines for Indonesians through bilateral and multilateral cooperation.
The government is also supporting research efforts towards developing the country's own COVID-19 vaccine, Merah Putih (Red and White), named after the colors of the national flag.
Moreover, Indonesia is cooperating with China and the United Kingdom for the procurement and supply of COVID-19 vaccine candidates.
An Indonesian delegation secured access to COVID-19 vaccines from China during a meeting with representatives from Cansino, G42, Sinopharm, and Sinovac in China on October 10 this year.
As disclosed by Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, the government would likely commence the first phase of COVID-19 immunization in the third week of December, 2020. (INE)
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