Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2020 August 10

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August 10

Does a US covid-19 test really cost thousands of dollars?

On reading a news story (which I can't find now, dammit) that said one US state governor was planning on offering "free" covid-19 tests to anyone, I was really surprised that tests were't free. Searching with Google found this article, which says insured people can still pay more than $1000 for a test (double that, or more, in some circumstances). I don't really understand the intricacies of the US healthcare insurance system and what is and isn't covered (nor this "in network" stuff). Does this really mean that an ordinary person in full time employment (e.g. as an office worker, with a mid-range salary) who had a fever and a cough for a few days, and felt they should get a covid test, would be paying $1000 or more (and their employer's health insurance plan would be paying more still, on top of that)? Or am I misunderstanding how the insurance works, and this is the cost their insurer is paying to the testing company, and the employee only pays a small amount, or nothing? 87.112.208.9 (talk) 22:56, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

The US healthcare insurance system isn't really a system but a bunch of companies trying to make as much money as possible because... freedom? Anyway, ignoring the reasons behind it, once you remember that it's not a system but companies focused on keeping their own costs down while keeping their earnings up and nothing else, everything about US healthcare is easy to understand. Ian.thomson (talk) 23:01, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Oh, and what is the case for someone who is poor and doesn't have any kind of employer's insurance (e.g. an undocumented immigrant) - and who presumably couldn't hope to pay $1000 out of pocket. What options would such a person have? 87.112.208.9 (talk) 23:02, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

The same as someone in a third world country. Wait, no, those countries might get help from Médecins Sans Frontières, and there's a chance their employer will understand that they shouldn't be working while infected with Covid-19. Ian.thomson (talk) 23:05, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

MSF teams are currently responding to the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, working with vulnerable groups in New York.^[1] Of course, that is a mere drop in the ocean.  --Lambiam 13:37, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

Someone in a typical company's group health plan who goes to an in-network provider would typically be responsible for a co-payment of $40 or so, with the insurer covering the rest. The insurer would pay a pre-negotiated and heavily discounted amount to the provider, compared to the ridiculously inflated sticker price of $1000 or whatever. Yes there are many horror stories of people getting socked with huge bills because they were uninsured or (even though insured) they went to the wrong provider. That is probably what you saw. Beyond that, the covid testing situation in the US is beyond dysfunctional, with tests often taking weeks to come back, by which time they are useless. This article is long and sometimes ranty, but describes the saga pretty well. 2602:24A:DE47:BB20:50DE:F402:42A6:A17D (talk) 23:09, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

Thank you. I've seen news stories showing long lines of people in cars, waiting in a car park queue for several hours for a drive-through test. Are those people getting the test on a free/subsidised basis (hence the queue), or are those people the employed-and-insured? 87.112.208.9 (talk) 23:17, 10 August 2020 (UTC)

I think the long lines affect almost everyone in places where they are happening. But nobody goes into a test expecting or willing to pay $1000. The people who got those bills were misled or surprised by some kind of screwup, which I hope will get fixed. According to this, the "retail" price of a test averages around $127. 2602:24A:DE47:BB20:50DE:F402:42A6:A17D (talk) 01:07, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

The funniest (or saddest) is that the waiting time for the results may go up to two weeks or more, making it pointless to take the test.^[2][3][4]

• "People can still pay more than $1000" is not the same as "It costs more than $1000". The entire U.S. healthcare system's economy is built on the most efficient way to funnel money into the pockets of shareholders of health insurance companies. They do this by inflating "over the counter" costs of medical care so high that people are forced to buy insurance. Medical care doesn't actually cost that much, in terms of the actual resources that go into providing the care, it's that the medical insurance companies have extorted the healthcare providers into jacking up their prices they charge to uninsured people, and they do this so that those uninsured people will be forced to buy insurance. --Jayron32 12:13, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

See also Families First Coronavirus Response Act#Coverage for COVID-19 testing and other health provisions. Perhaps someone could expand on that please? Alansplodge (talk) 18:23, 11 August 2020 (UTC)

Thankyou to everyone who has responded. So really, not as bad as I thought, but not really good either. 87.112.208.9 (talk) 23:15, 11 August 2020 (UTC)