Finance

Long Covid medical costs average $9,500

Published

2 years ago

December 15, 2022

Long Covid results in $9,500 of total average medical costs for workers and their employers in the six months following a diagnosis, according to a study by Nomi Health.

Long Covid is a chronic illness that can carry potentially debilitating symptoms, which may last for months or years. It can impact anyone who has an initial Covid-19 infection, regardless of age or health.

Up to 30% of Americans who get Covid have developed long-haul symptoms; that means as many as 23 million Americans have been affected, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The associated medical costs largely result from doctor visits, hospital stays and an increased likelihood of prescriptions for steroids, antibiotics and respiratory medications, among other things, according to Nomi Health’s study.

Long Covid patients are “health-system wanderers,” said Mark Newman, CEO and co-founder of Nomi Health. “They’re like nomads through the health-care system, trying to figure out ‘What’s wrong with me?’”

The health system analyzed 20.3 million medical claims for 4.7 million workers with health insurance in the first half of 2022.

Its medical-cost estimate accounts only for workers who have received a long Covid diagnosis.

But getting a diagnosis can be a lengthy and costly process for many people. There isn’t a test that tells patients if they have long Covid, which means doctors often only conclude someone has it after a battery of tests ruling out other ailments. Since a cure remains unknown, treatment generally focuses on ongoing symptom management.

“There are diseases and conditions with a lot of obvious answers, and long Covid is not one of them,” Newman said.

In a separate study, Harvard University economist David Cutler estimated that long Covid costs patients $9,000 a year in medical expenses. As with Nomi’s estimate, Cutler’s is a total cost before accounting for health insurance cost-sharing and any out-of-pocket limits that may apply.

Patients with long Covid racked up $9,000 in additional average medical costs per person when compared to similar people who had Covid but didn’t have subsequent long-haul symptoms, Nomi Health found.

Medical expenses aren’t the only financial cost the afflicted might suffer. For example, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of people are estimated to be out of work or have reduced their hours, resulting in lost earnings.

Nomi Health found employees with long Covid are 3.6 times more likely to miss work for medical reasons.

“This is an ongoing tax and burden on our society that we’ll be dealing with for decades,” Newman said.

Cutler at Harvard University estimated, based on confirmed Covid cases, that long Covid would cost the U.S. economy $3.7 trillion from increased medical spending, reduced earnings and reduced quality of life. That total cost is equivalent to that of the Great Recession, Cutler said, which prior to the pandemic-era recession was the worst downturn since the Great Depression.

Proactive strategies to help with medical costs

There are a few considerations that can help manage the financial fallout from long Covid.

“It’s so painful when you have an illness and all of a sudden you don’t have money coming in,” Carolyn McClanahan, a certified financial planner and medical doctor, told CNBC.

Workers who aren’t yet sick should sign up for disability insurance programs during their open-enrollment period at work, if their employer offers the benefit, McClanahan said.

Doing so can provide a financial buffer if someone must miss work for a short or extended period due to long Covid. Such group policies offer guaranteed coverage at low cost, but there are often exclusions and limitations worth reviewing.

People should also be mindful when choosing a health plan. For example, some plans carry lower monthly premiums but have bigger deductibles and other costs, as well as a skinnier network of doctors available to patients. Conversely, plans with higher monthly premiums may have smaller deductibles and out-of-pocket limits and a larger roster of specialists available to them, perhaps without a referral from a primary care doctor. Going out of a health plan’s network can carry significant costs.

Health plans with larger networks of doctors and specialists may serve a long Covid patient well, said McClanahan, founder of Life Planning Partners in Jacksonville, Florida, and a member of CNBC’s Advisor Council.

“There are so many variables you have to consider,” she said.

Some aspects of health care, such as prescription drugs, are more expensive through insurance, which means it might benefit someone to shop around and use resources such as GoodRx, McClanahan said. For example, a drug for $100 through insurance might be $4 through the right pharmacy using a GoodRx coupon, she said.

While raiding retirement savings early is generally not a good idea, there are tax-efficient ways patients can consider withdrawing money from an individual retirement account if they need funds, McClanahan said. It may be useful to talk to an accountant about these options, she said.

For example, a saver who’s under age 59½ generally owes a 10% tax penalty in addition to income taxes when withdrawing money from an IRA.

However, there’s an exception to that 10% penalty in some cases involving significant, unreimbursed medical expenses. Such people would have to document their medical expenses and would still owe income tax on that IRA withdrawal, McClanahan said.

Reports /TrainViral/

Crypto

Bitcoin’s Recovery – the Downturn Is Over

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

The market is currently in a news-driven environment where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agenda rather than fundamentals.

Bitfinex analysts have warned crypto investors to be cautious as bitcoin’s (BTC) recovery over the weekend is not a sign that its correction is over; the asset could witness more bloodshed in the near term.

In the latest Bitfinex Alpha report, experts deemed the market’s reaction this week critical, especially as supply alleviated over the weekend could return when traditional markets open.

“No Man’s Land”

Since Saturday, bitcoin has risen almost 10% from $57,600 to $63,000, closing last week in the green. The asset has surged above the 125-day range low of $60,200, which it broke through earlier this month after news of the German government’s massive BTC selling hit the market.

Market sentiment began to improve after reports that wallets linked to the German government were almost empty. However, the positive sentiment may not be sustained for long as the BTC the German authorities moved to trading desks and exchanges are yet to be sold.

While the supply from Germany appears to have been factored into bitcoin’s market price, Bitfinex analysts believe the end of selling pressure depends on how the involved trading desks execute their trades in the coming days.

Although the shift in sentiment underscores the market’s capacity to integrate new information and adjust expectations quickly, analysts think the market’s reaction over the first two trading days of the week cannot be overlooked for two reasons.

First, the low support level in the $60,200 range has now become a potential resistance line. Second, trading patterns over the past three months suggest that weekends are usually favorable for markets, especially on Saturdays when supply pressure seems to subside.

“We are now in no man’s land until we get clear resolution above or below this level,” the analysts said.

A News-Driven Environment

Besides the potential resistance level and three-month weekend trading pattern, the market is currently in a news-driven environment, where the prices of cryptocurrencies have been determined by news agendas rather than fundamentals.

Since selling pressure concerns are not yet completely obsolete due to upcoming Mt Gox creditor distributions, Bitfinex analysts expect such headlines to continue to have some impact on price movements. As such, the analysts urged investors to exercise caution in their trading strategies.

Reports /Trainviral/

Crypto

Bitcoin ETFs Saw $300M in Daily Net Inflows

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

BlackRock’s IBIT led with $117.25 million in inflows on July 15, also being the most traded Bitcoin ETF.

The US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily net inflow of $301 million on July 15th. This extended their winning streak to seven consecutive days amidst a broader market recovery.

None of the ETFs recorded outflows for the day.

Bitcoin ETFs Rake in $16.11B in Net Inflows Since Jan

According to the data compiled by SoSoValue, BlackRock’s IBIT, the top spot Bitcoin ETF by net asset value, recorded the largest net inflows of the day at $117.25 million. IBIT was also the most actively traded Bitcoin ETF on Monday, with a volume of $1.24 billion. Ark Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB came in close behind with net inflows of $117.19 million.

Fidelity’s FBTC experienced net inflows of $36.15 million on Monday, while Bitwise’s BITB saw $15.24 million in inflows. VanEck’s HODL, Invesco and Galaxy Digital’s BTCO, and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC funds also recorded net inflows. Meanwhile, Grayscale’s GBTC and other ETFs, such as Valkyrie’s BRRR, WisdomTree’s BTCW, and Hashdex’s DEFI, registered no flows for the day.

A total of $2.26 billion was traded on Monday. The trading volume for these ETFs was less than in March when it exceeded $8 billion on some days. Meanwhile, these funds have collectively attracted $16.11 billion in net inflow since their January launch.

What’s Next For Bitcoin?

Earlier this month, bitcoin’s price decline was mainly due to fears of massive selling pressure from Mt. Gox and the German government’s BTC sales.

But the assassination attempt on pro-crypto former US President and presumptive Republican candidate Donald Trump at Saturday’s rally seemed to spark a recovery in the world’s largest digital asset, and experts are bullish on the asset’s price trajectory going forward. Bitcoin surged more than 9% over the past week and was currently trading slightly below $64,000.

Veteran trader Peter Brandt discussed bitcoin’s price outlook, suggesting a potential major rally. He referred to a pattern he terms “Hump->Slump->Bump->Dump->Pump” and highlighted that the July 5 double top attempt was a bear trap, confirmed by the July 13 close. He sees a likely continued upward trend but warned that a close below $56,000 would negate this bullish view.

“Bitcoin $BTC could be unfolding its often-repeated Hump…Slump…Bump…Dump…Pump chart construction. Jul 5 attempt at the double top was a bear trap, confirmed by Jul 13 close. Most likely scenario now is that bears are trapped. Close below $56k negates this interpretation”

Reports /Trainviral/

Crypto

LI.FI DeFi Platform Exploited, Over $8M Lost

Published

5 months ago

July 16, 2024

PeckShield alert reveals LI.FI’s protocol vulnerability is similar to a March 2022 attack, with the same bug recurring.

The decentralized finance (DeFi) platform LI.FI protocol has suffered an exploit amounting to over $8 million.

Cyvers Alerts reported detecting suspicious transactions within the LI.FI cross-chain transaction aggregator.

LI.FI Issues Warning After $8 Million Exploit

LI.FI confirmed the breach in a statement on July 16 via X: “Please do not interact with any http://LI.FI powered applications for now! We’re investigating a potential exploit.” The team clarified that users who did not set infinite approval are not at risk, emphasizing that only those who manually set infinite approvals seem to be affected.

According to Cyvers Alerts, more than $8 million in user funds have been stolen, with the majority being stablecoins. According to on-chain data, the hacker’s wallet holds 1,715 Ether (ETH) valued at $5.8 million and USDC, USDT, and DAI stablecoins.

Cyvers Alerts advised users to revoke relevant authorizations immediately, noting that the attacker is actively converting USDC and USDT into ETH.

Crypto security firm Decurity provided insights into the exploit, stating that it involves the LI.FI bridge. “The root cause is a possibility of an arbitrary call with user-controlled data via depositToGasZipERC20() in GasZipFacet, which was deployed 5 days ago,” Decurity explained on X.

“In general, the risks behind routers, cross-chain swaps, etc. are about token approvals. Raw native assets like (unwrapped) ETH are safe from these kinds of hacks b/c they don’t have approvals as an option. Most users & wallets also no longer do “infinite approvals” which gives a smart contract total control on removing any amount of their tokens. It’s important to understand which tokens you’re approving to which contracts.

This dashboard looks for all transactions of a user that intersects Lifi. Not all of these transactions indicate risk- but you can see how, broadly, integrations & layers of tech (like how Metamask bridge uses Lifi on BSC) can complicate how users do or don’t put their assets at risk. Revoke Cash is the most well known approval manager app.

But it’s also good security practice to simply rotate your address. New addresses start with 0 approvals, so starting fresh by moving your tokens to a fresh address is another good security practice.” – commented Carlos Mercado, Data Scientist at Flipside Crypto.

Recent Exploit Mirrors March 2022 Attack

Further analysis by PeckShield alert revealed that the vulnerability is similar to a previous attack on LI.FI’s protocol that occurred on March 20, 2022. That incident saw a bad actor exploit LI.FI’s smart contract, specifically the swapping feature, before bridging.

The attacker manipulated the system to call token contracts directly within their contract’s context, making users who had given infinite approval vulnerable. This exploit resulted in the theft of approximately 205 ETH from 29 wallets, affecting tokens such as USDC, MATIC, RPL, GNO, USDT, MVI, AUDIO, AAVE, JRT, and DAI.

“The bug is basically the same. Are we learning anything from the past lesson(s)?” PeckShield Alert said in a July 16 X post.

Following the 2022 incident, LI.FI disabled all swap methods in its smart contract and worked on developing a fix to prevent future vulnerabilities. However, the recurrence of a similar exploit raises concerns about the platform’s security measures and whether adequate steps were taken to address the vulnerabilities identified in the previous breach.

LI.FI is a liquidity aggregation protocol that allows users to trade across various blockchains, venues, and bridges.

Reports /Trainviral/