COVID-19 Tests Could Cost You Hundreds Of Dollars In San Diego County

Speaker 1: 00:00 Aside from expanded eligibility and vaccinating children, like you just heard about public health experts say free COVID-19 testing is key to monitoring the pandemic going forward. So why are some people still paying hundreds of dollars for tests? I new source investigative reporter, Jill Castellano has been looking into this and joined me now. Joe, welcome. Thanks for having me, Jared. So who is supposed to get the bill for COVID test? If they're supposed to be free to the public? Speaker 2: 00:30 Yeah. In many cases, the insurance companies are paying for these tests under the federal cares act. That's the way it's supposed to work in many cases. So you go to a testing site, they collect your insurance information and your insurance company is required to cover the full cost of that test, leaving it free to you, to the public. And if you don't have insurance, there are many testing sites operated by the government or that work with the government to offer free tests to those individuals as well. Speaker 1: 01:00 Hmm. So then why are people paying for COVID tests? Speaker 2: 01:03 Yeah, this got me really interested in the topic. When I started hearing about the hundreds of dollars people were spending considering all the free sites out there. Well, in a lot of cases, it's a matter of convenience or in other words, people feel they don't have many other options and they have to pay for a test. So some sites, the free government sites might take days to get your test results back to you. That's not good enough for some people. If they've got to meet up with a family member, as soon as possible, if they have to get back to work because they had a COVID exposure and they really need to earn that money, then they might end up paying for a COVID test. Speaker 1: 01:41 So why are these providers not billing insurance companies? Speaker 2: 01:46 Yeah, it's, it's kind of an interesting story. So in a lot of these cases, we have been speaking with providers who say, we're not worried. We just don't have the infrastructure to collect insurance information and bill insurance companies, because we would need to set up a billing department or something like that. Um, so they go ahead and just collect your money up front and then let you go and get reimbursed by your insurance company later. One of the issues with that as well, that might mean that you're out 300, $400 and you need to go and try to get that money back eventually. So is what they're doing legal. Yeah. There's no problem with this under the cares act. It's totally fine. If you are not in network with any insurance companies as a provider, you don't have to bill insurance companies. Um, but as I mentioned, that can be a big hurdle for the customers who may not understand that. And may just assume that these companies are going to collect their insurance information. It can be a real shock when they get a big bill. Yeah. Speaker 1: 02:47 And you've mentioned this a bit, but what kind of bills are people who get the test getting Speaker 2: 02:53 I've seen bills up to $400 in San Diego County and kind of all in between $0 and $400, depending on the type of test, how fast they needed that test result back. The reason why I've been able to gather this level of information is I knew source actually commissioned a survey of local testing providers and we had more than 50 participate in that survey. So we were able to gather a lot of information about these prices. Speaker 1: 03:20 Are people having any luck getting reimbursed for COVID testing charges by their insurance provider? Speaker 2: 03:26 Yes. Some are having a lot of luck because it is required ultimately in many cases that insurance pay those costs. So if you are able to navigate the system and go submit that bill to your insurance company, it very likely will be covered Speaker 1: 03:41 Your story. You mentioned the COVID clinic, how many test providers are billing customers upfront like that one? Speaker 2: 03:48 Well, in the survey that we did, we found 13 providers that were not accepting insurance in any cases, no matter what. And adding on top of that, there were another 10 providers that were only accepting insurance in some cases. And those can be especially tricky for the public to understand what cases are that. Well, sometimes it can be some tests are covered by insurance, but other tests are not. Speaker 1: 04:13 And how might this billing practice impact whether or not someone goes through the trouble of getting tested? Speaker 2: 04:19 Yeah. The experts that I spoke with are pretty concerned about these high prices, because it could discourage people from seeking testing. If you're facing a really big cost, it could be a sticker. Shock is what they call it. Um, or if you actually do get tested and the bill is higher than you expect, you may not get tested in the future. And that could be a real problem for the pandemic. Moving forward. If we have fewer people getting tested, it's hard to monitor infection levels. It's hard to understand the state of COVID-19 in the community. Speaker 1: 04:51 And what do you recommend someone do if they are trying to get a test and they're being charged up front, Speaker 2: 04:56 I would recommend having some agency and knowing your rights. So you can always ask people while you're being charged. You can ask, would you mind trying to build my insurance for me? So I don't have to pay this cost? If the answer is no, you should make sure you have a receipt. You should make sure you have documentation of your visit and you should definitely go and submit that claim to your insurance company. Even if it's a headache, it's probably worth it because it likely will be covered. Speaker 1: 05:23 And where can people go to get tested and avoid this kind of hassle? Speaker 2: 05:27 The County run sites and the state run sites are really good options that are free. If those aren't going to get you the results fast enough, there are pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens. There are federally qualified health centers. If you start looking around, you'll find many good options. Speaker 1: 05:44 I've been speaking with a new source, investigative reporter, Jill Castillano Jill. Thank you. Thanks so much. You can read more about COVID test prices@inewsource.org. I knew source is an independently funded nonprofit partner of KPBS.