In my last post, I urged people to wear masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (especially the Delta variant). What I failed to mention to those who resist masks (and/or vaccinations) is the COST of the virus.
Several reports have indicated that the recent Delta variant doubles the risk of hospital admission.
And in case you’re unaware …. hospital stays involve beaucoup bucks.
In fact, according to my online research, hospitalization costs for COVID-19 patients from 21-40, without insurance, averaged about $68,261. For people from 41-60, this increased to $78,569. Fortunately for the folks who have Medicare, the costs are considerably less, but since many depend primarily on Social Security, their finances suffer as well.
Yes, many people have insurance through their employers and that will definitely help with medical costs. BUT … there are also scores of people who are currently unemployed because of the virus and thus are bereft of any insurance.
As I indicated in one of my previous posts, I recently had a brief (3 days) hospital stay (not COVID-related). My hospital-only costs were around $26,000. OTHER costs (the procedure itself, various doctors involved, lab tests, etc.) brought the total up to around $35,000. Fortunately, with Medicare, this amount was significantly reduced and thankfully, I had some savings.
Now consider that the average hospital stay for COVID-19 for all ages is 22.4 days — just over three weeks. (I will leave it to each reader to calculate cost.)
So go ahead. Leave off your mask! Reject the vaccine!
Just be sure you have the finances available when your declared independence comes back to haunt you.
**************************************
Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
Nan's Notebook 