COVID-19 Test
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Many Americans want to be tested for COVID-19 but there are lots of questions about the costs of tests or if it is free.

One of the best ways of determining the accurate number of cases of persons who are positive for the virus in a specific country is through massive tests. However, even though many are having the symptoms of COVID-19, they chose not to be tested for the virus due to the costs of the test.

During the press conference at the White House on Sunday, Vice President Mike Pence stressed out that Trump's administration is going to support all Americans but he did not give many details. Last week, Pence announced that all insurance companies agreed to waive all co-pays on COVID-19 tests. This means that the test will be part of their extended coverage but there are also some who include the treatment.

Pence said during the briefing that, "Now all coronavirus testing is free, and it's free for every American, including uninsured Americans."

He also thank the Congress, who are mainly composed of Democrats, for joining Trump's administration in making sure that the COVID-19 test will never be a barrier for anyone to be tested.

According to the White House, insurance companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, Humana and United Health Group were among those who attended the event. It was also confirmed by the White House that most of the private insurance companies will cover COVID-19 testing only but not for the treatment. 

In a recently published article, Blue Cross Blue Shield released a statement where they said that they "will be consistent with the standard provisions of the member's health benefits" while Aetna said that "If a commercial member sees a telemedicine provider for their follow-up visit, there are no co-pays as part of our zero co-pay telemedicine offering available for the next 90 days."

The statement of the private insurance companies was released following the questions of their clients. This means the even the insured clients have many questions as to the coverage of their tests. 

Dena Grayson, a biotechnology executive, said "This is not a disease that only hits rich people or insured people. We can see that the number of cases is accelerating, and we're barely testing."

As a response also to address the problems in testing, Congress passed on Saturday the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and this includes some provisions for testing and financial support for workers. It is expected that this will be discussed in the Senate this week. 

This act will help those who have insurance but have high deductibles because this will require and mandate the insurers and employers to waive cost-sharing not only for the test but also for an emergency room visit or an office as well. 

Despite this, there are around 30 million Americans who are not yet insured and this will be a big challenge for the government and COVID-19 testing is the most immediate concern right now in the country to suppress and flatten the curve.

Another issue also that some of the Americans who want to be tested is that they were being turned down by the doctors and hospitals because they did not meet the qualifications. An example of this is the case of a doctoral student at Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara who was denied for COVID-19 tests despite showing the symptoms.

Instead of having the tests, the doctoral student was told by a doctor just to go back if she experienced shortness of breathing. She was very alarmed because she lived with her parents who are at their old age and they are very susceptible to this virus.

This is the reason why Trump's administration is making extra efforts like lifting the "red tape" to make testing more available and reiterated that the test is free.

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