Zika microcephalic child may cost 4 million dollars

The Price of Zika? About $4 Million Per Child Wired Aug 2016

• Cost of pregnancy in states with Zika outbreaks will climb when you figure in the two rounds of Zika testing and monthly serial ultrasounds the CDC recommends for monitoring.

• “A very, very conservative guess would be that the medical costs of Zika would be around $600,000 for these families,”

• Plus indirect costs for

  • special schooling
  • modify their home and vehicles
  • loss of income for parents providing round-the-clock care.

• Alfaro-Murillo estimates the total lifetime costs, medical and indirect, will reach $4.1 million. ”

• "Medicaid will probably cover the majority of the medical treatments”

Comments by VitaminDWiki

1. I can relate. My 104 year-old father-in -aw takes a lot of daily care
   • about 6 hours of my time
   • and 6 hours of care-givers (@ $25/hours ==> $54,000/year)

2. Probably the mother does not even have to be a US citizen – just have the birth in US and her birth defected child remain in the US

3. Rough estimate 900 microcephalic children to increase Florida's Medicaid cost by 1%

   • Medicad Florida $9 billion annually
   • 1% of annual = $90 million
   • $100,000 = rough guess of annual cost per child (assumes that Medicad does not pay for care-giving)
   • 900 children = 1% addition

See also VitaminDWiki

• Zika in New York City - majority had recently been in the Dominican Republic - June 2016
  • Suspect that some women from the Dominican Republic are coming to the US to have their Zika - baby care paid by the US
• Off topic – Caregiving of seniors at home – helpful hints