A Deadly Wait for U.S. Health Insurance Coverage-Sitting on the Couch with Malaria

The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Jonathan S SchultzAndrés F Henao-Martínez

Abstract

Uninsured and unprepared travelers to countries with endemic tropical diseases pose great health-care burdens and financial risks on returning to the United States. We discuss the delayed presentation of an uninsured U.S. traveler returning from West Africa with severe malaria who required intensive care measures to save his life. Despite being critically ill on his return, he sat rigoring on his couch taking antipyretics for 3 days, while he applied for insurance on the Affordable Care Act website and waited for approval because he was fearful of the costs of seeking care. He also had limited access to affordable pretravel consultation and prophylactic medications and did not take them because he had no insurance. Average fees for a malaria hospitalization cost $25,789; however, this patient accumulated fees nearing $300,000-and his care was reimbursed by emergency Medicaid with $39,000, because his newly accepted insurance did not cover his hospitalization. This patients' experience in the U.S. health-care system with a deadly tropical disease exemplifies the need for affordable universal coverage of pretravel consultation and malaria prophylaxis. In this uncertain political time and the recent removal of the health insurance...Continue Reading

References

Feb 11, 2004·Journal of Travel Medicine·Davidson H Hamer, Bradley A Connor
Dec 7, 2011·Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America·Regina C LaRocqueUNKNOWN Global TravEpiNet Consortium
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Jul 19, 2017·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Diana KhuuFrank J Sorvillo

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Citations

Oct 24, 2018·The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene·Hana AkselrodGary L Simon
May 18, 2019·MMWR. Surveillance Summaries : Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries·Kimberly E MaceKathrine R Tan
Mar 19, 2021·MMWR. Surveillance Summaries : Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries·Kimberly E MaceKathrine R Tan
Nov 9, 2021·Tropical Medicine & International Health : TM & IH·Guangyu LuGuoding Zhu

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