NEW YORK, Nov. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study
from FAIR Health, in collaboration with the West Health Institute
and Marty Makary, MD, MPH, from
Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, shows the relationship between preexisting
comorbidities of COVID-19 and mortality in privately insured
patients. The study has been released as a white paper entitled
Risk Factors for COVID-19 Mortality among Privately Insured
Patients: A Claims Data Analysis.
Across all age groups, the top three comorbidity risk factors
for death from COVID-19 were, in order from highest to lowest risk,
developmental disorders (e.g., developmental disorders of speech
and language, developmental disorders of scholastic skills, central
auditory processing disorders), lung cancer, and intellectual
disabilities and related conditions (e.g., Down syndrome and other
chromosomal anomalies; mild, moderate, severe and profound
intellectual disabilities; congenital malformations, such as
certain disorders that cause microcephaly). As detailed in the
white paper, these findings are supported by recent scientific
literature.
There are several possible reasons for the high COVID-19
mortality risk in people with developmental disorders and
intellectual disabilities. These include greater prevalence of
comorbid chronic conditions, disproportionate representation as
workers in essential services, and increased COVID-19 transmission
in group residential settings.
In patients under age 70, lung cancer conferred the highest risk
of COVID-19 mortality. In that age cohort, patients with COVID-19
and lung cancer were nearly seven times more likely to die than
patients who had COVID-19 but not lung cancer.
The findings were based on an analysis of data from the nation's
largest private healthcare claims database, the FAIR Health
National Private Insurance Claims (FH NPIC®) repository.
Evaluating all patients in FH NPIC's longitudinal dataset, FAIR
Health identified 467,773 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 from
April 1, 2020, through August 31, 2020. Relationships were examined
between the outcome of mortality (dependent variable) and
the following independent variables: age, gender and
preexisting comorbidities. The results of this analysis could help
inform protocols for vaccine distribution as well as prevention and
treatment protocols.
Among the other study findings:
- Chronic kidney disease (CKD) and heart failure. Across
all age groups, patients with COVID-19 and CKD were nearly twice as
likely to die as patients who had COVID-19 but not CKD. Patients
with COVID-19 and heart failure were more than one and a half times
as likely to die as patients who had COVID-19 but not heart
failure.
- All age groups versus patients under age 70. The risk of
COVID-19 mortality was generally higher for a comorbidity for
patients under age 70 than it was for the same comorbidity for
patients of all age groups.
- Lack of comorbidities. Lack of comorbidities was
partially protective against COVID-19 mortality, but not
completely. Of COVID-19 patients who died, 83.29 percent had a
preexisting comorbidity, while 16.71 percent did not, per the
medical claims data.
- Multiple comorbidities. As a patient's number of
comorbidities increased, so did the odds of dying from
COVID-19.
- Gender. Males accounted for 60.07 percent of total
COVID-19 deaths, females for 39.93 percent.
- Age. Patients over age 69 accounted for 4.82 percent of
COVID-19 diagnoses but 42.43 percent of total deaths from
COVID-19.
- Mortality rate. Of patients diagnosed with COVID-19,
0.59 percent died.
FAIR Health President Robin
Gelburd commented: "By delving into our unparalleled
repository of private healthcare claims, FAIR Health has been able
to produce actionable findings that can inform public health
recommendations and policies, particularly those related to
protocols for vaccine distribution, as well as prevention and
treatment protocols. We thank our collaborators in this work, the
West Health Institute and Dr. Marty
Makary."
Tim Lash, Chief Strategy Officer
and Executive Vice President, the West Health Institute, stated:
"The West Health Institute is proud to partner with FAIR Health on
this timely, important analysis of risk factors for COVID-19
mortality. As we edge closer to a vaccine for the SARS-CoV-2 virus,
the insights generated by this analysis will be critical to
informing vaccine distribution among the most vulnerable."
Dr. Makary, a professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine and a professor of health policy and management at
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said: "FAIR
Health has made a valuable contribution to the literature on risk
factors for COVID-19 mortality. The findings in this report will
help inform care of patients most at risk of dying from
COVID-19."
For the complete white paper, click here.
Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth
About FAIR Health
FAIR Health is a national,
independent nonprofit organization that qualifies as a public
charity under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code. It is dedicated to
bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance
information through data products, consumer resources and health
systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's
largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which
includes over 32 billion claim records and is growing at a rate of
over 2 billion claim records a year. FAIR Health licenses its
privately billed data and data products—including benchmark
modules, data visualizations, custom analytics and market
indices—to commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers,
providers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies,
researchers and others. Certified by the Centers for Medicare &
Medicaid Services (CMS) as a national Qualified Entity, FAIR Health
also receives data representing the experience of all individuals
enrolled in traditional Medicare Parts A, B and D; FAIR Health
includes among the private claims data in its database, data on
Medicare Advantage enrollees. FAIR Health can produce insightful
analytic reports and data products based on combined Medicare and
commercial claims data for government, providers, payors and other
authorized users. FAIR Health's systems for processing and storing
protected health information have earned HITRUST CSF certification
and achieved AICPA SOC 2 compliance by meeting the rigorous data
security requirements of these standards. As a testament to the
reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been
incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and
designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of
state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal
injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an
official reference point in support of certain state balance
billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise
out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its
database to power a free consumer website available in English and
Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers
to estimate and plan for their healthcare expenditures and offer a
rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been
honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare
Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and
Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a
top resource for patients in Dr. Marty Makary's book The Price
We Pay: What Broke American Health Care—and How to Fix It and
Elisabeth Rosenthal's book An American Sickness: How Healthcare
Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more
information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.
Contact:
Dean
Sicoli
Chief Communications Officer
FAIR Health
646-664-1645
dsicoli@fairhealth.org
Rachel Kent
Director of Marketing, Outreach & Communications
FAIR Health
646-396-0795
rkent@fairhealth.org
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SOURCE FAIR Health