Analysis of DKV customer data reveals: people who are infected with covid-19 have often not returned to full health even after being discharged from hospital

DKV Deutsche Krankenversicherung AG has evaluated data from policyholders with comprehensive and supplementary insurance who have been infected by covid-19. The results have revealed valuable insights into pre-existing conditions, the course of the disease, and how it affects patients’ health in the post-covid-19 phase.

One aspect that stood out in particular was that even after being discharged from hospital, covid-19 patients had not made a full recovery: the average expenditure on healthcare services per day increased by more than 50 per cent after the illness.

“Our evaluation shows that just because patients are no longer considered infectious does not mean that they have returned to full health. A covid-19 infection puts a strain on the patient’s health that extends far beyond the immediate impact of the disease”, stresses Dr. Clemens Muth, CEO of DKV. “The longer-term impact of a covid-19 infection is anything but trivial and should not be taken lightly.”

Covid-19 does not only affect people with underlying health conditions as is often assumed, but also people who are in good health: the survey of people with comprehensive DKV health insurance showed that prior to their infection around 15% of hospitalised covid-19 patients had not submitted any claims since 2018.

As expected, the proportion of patients who require hospital treatment and who are classified as having have a severe case of the disease rises significantly with increasing age. However, an evaluation of the age distribution of covid-19 cases since the beginning of the second wave shows very clearly that since October there have been a relatively large number of new infections in the under-20 age group. Younger patients stay in hospital for an average of six to eight days, whereas patients over 70 usually stay for 12 to 13 days.


Among patients who were hospitalised the most common underlying health conditions were heart disease and high blood pressure, and a disproportionally large number of patients had pre-existing respiratory diseases. More than half of the patients were also diagnosed with fat metabolism disorders, fatty liver disease or increased uric acid levels before or during treatment.


“Covid-19 can affect anyone. This is why the best, most effective form of protection against covid-19 remains to practice social distancing and hygiene measures to avoid being infected in the first place”, says Muth.