If you’re under 65, you can face surprise bills for COVID-19 testing if you’re not careful; you should understand how to avoid these bills. If you have Medicare, you should not pay anything for a COVID-19 test; getting the test should be a walk in the park. Medicare covers the full cost of the test whether you are enrolled in traditional Medicare or a private Medicare Advantage plan.
Medicare has waived the Part B deductible for the COVID test as well as the 20 percent coinsurance charged for most Part B services. Medicare also covers the COVID-19 serology test in full.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act also waives cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing-related services, including doctors’ visits and other outpatient services, such as hospital observation and emergency department care. People in Medicare Advantage also face no cost sharing for either the COVID-19 test or testing-related services. Medicare Advantage plans also are not allowed to require prior authorization or other administrative barriers for these services.
Sarah Kliff reports for the New York Times that Congress tried to protect working people from coronavirus testing bills as well. But, it did not wholly succeed. For example, insurers are not required to cover routine tests now required by many employers and schools. And, doctors and hospitals have found workarounds to the law designed to protect people from coronavirus testing costs, charging unexpected fees for their services.
Data from Castlight suggests that more than two in 100 people receive bills for COVID-19 testing. To avoid surprise bills, go to a federally qualified health center, there are thousands of them across the country, or another public testing site when getting a test. You can find these locations on your state health department’s website.
Kliff reports that you might want to avoid hospitals and free-standing emergency rooms. They can charge big bills. They tack on a “facility fee.” One Texas hospital emergency room charged a $1,684 facility fee for its drive-through coronavirus test. A New York patient received a bill for a $1,394 facility fee and more, for her test conducted in a tent outside a hospital. According to Pro Publica, these fees are sometimes ten times more than the cost of the COVID-19 test.
Some patients are finding that providers are requesting multiple tests when they come in for a COVID-19 test. Make sure that you are clear that you only want the COVID-19 test and that the doctor won’t be charging you for other tests.
If you are uninsured, see whether your doctor is willing to bill the federal government for your test instead of you. The government has a provider relief fund to cover the cost of COVID-19 tests for the uninsured. But, doctors can choose whether to bill that fund or not. Also, in some states, Medicaid will pick up the cost of the COVID-19 test for the uninsured.
Here’s more from Just Care:
Leave a Reply