The days of full covid coverage are over. Insurers are restoring deductibles and co-pays

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7. Most insurance plans stop waiving costs of COVID hospitalizations

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— If you're currently unvaccinated for COVID-19, get ready to start paying more for COVID hospital care and possibly health insurance.

Early in the pandemic, many insurance companies were waiving the costs of hospital care for COVID patients. Now, most of those cost-waivers are coming to an end.

In November 2020, 88% of health insurance group plans waived all costs associated with COVID-19 hospital stays, according to a study by KFF, a nonprofit, health policy analysis group.


By October 2021, 82% of health insurance plans will no longer dismiss those expenses, the study said.

“What that means for patients is if you have a COVID-related hospital stay, you're going to be on the hook for your deductible and your co-insurance, which could be thousands of dollars,” said Cynthia Cox, vice president of KFF and co-author of the study.

One reason health insurers were voluntarily waiving COVID hospital costs is they wanted to avoid a federal mandate from Congress, according to Cox.

“If there had been a federal mandate, they would not have been able to stop waiving those costs when they wanted to,” said Cox.