Covid 19 Testing
 

I'm Confused since my insurance and Medicare pay for testing, why do people stand in line for hours and complain. Just curious. Len

Because the lack of testing sites. If I want to be tested, I have to drive close to an hour each way. Plus the wait time was greater than 2 hours. And I am not really confident the test is accurate. But it is required for me.

Plus It’s hot outside.

Can't you go to a local Quest or Lab Corp location? They probably would charge unless your doc sends you but since it's required for you I would think he'd write you a script. I had blood testing done by Lab Corp on 466 over by Yesteryear Golf Cart place a few weeks ago and they said they do Covid testing when I asked. I think it was $119 without a Rx. With an Rx it would be covered in full.

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According to FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE ACT AND CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT as long as your doctor deems it necessary there are (supposedly) no deductibles or copays. I'm sure a doctor can easily be convinced it's necessary.

COVID-19 Testing Is Supposed to Be Free. Here'''s Why You Might Still Get Billed | Time

How much will getting tested cost me?

It’s supposed to be free. The new law mandates that Medicare, Medicaid, other government plans, and most private plans cover COVID-19 testing — and all testing-related services — entirely. That means no co-pays, no deductibles, no co-insurance charges. Free.

But beware. Our health care system is a mess and the law does not explicitly prohibit charging you if you go to an out-of-network provider. It also doesn’t address other “surprise billing” problems.

The law requires insurers to cover testing and doctor’s office, urgent care, telehealth or emergency room visits as long as the services “relate to the furnishing or administration” of a COVID-19 test or “to the evaluation of such individual for purposes of determining the need” of a test. That means that if your visit does not result in a COVID-19 test, if you get tested somewhere that is not in your insurance plan’s network, or if you’re treated in anyway besides just getting a test, you could end up with a bill.

Most Urgent Care locations provide Covid testing and it's a blood test, nothing jammed up your nose. You have to wait 3-4 days for results but it's a walk in, almost no wait whatsoever.

There is an antigen blood test at the pharmacy by the new Villages hospital in Brownwood for $30. Results in a few minutes.

I had my test done at Laurel Manor on Tuesday morning and it was only 25 minutes from the time I got in line until I was finished.

I am Not in Florida, lines are the same in many states, especially for those who do not healthcare. Plus many have large deductible so test is not free. The closest site for me is still over an hour drive, as is for many people, even in parts of Florida

Did you need pay for the test at Laurel Manor if you did not have Medicare?
 

Did you need pay for the test at Laurel Manor if you did not have Medicare?

You can get tested in Summer field at Exceptional Urgent Care.

You must have one of those less expensive and better insurance policies compared to the ACA recently

I thought Walgreens was doing drive thru testing for free without a doctor's note or even any symptoms?

I got both a covid and antibody test at the hospital after an emergency admission for internal bleeding, results the same day. I wouldn’t recommend going that route if you can help it. And I still haven’t seen what my 20% is going to be. Can’t wait for that!

The Walgreens on Kristina Way by Rohan is the only local Walgreens doing drive-thru COVID19 testing. You need to schedule an appointment online.

Covid-19 Testing & Locations | Walgreens

Lots of confusion in these posts. You CANNOT get a test for active infection by going to quest or labcorp. Their staff is not trained in how to collect a deep nasal sample. If someone else collects a sample their labs will accept it and run it. They will not allow you in their lab

From Quest's website


Labcorp has similar information. If you want to know if you are actively infected you must get a nasal swab. Most doctor's offices are not doing it, again training. You can go to several chain pharmacy drive up facilities, appointments are required. In that situation they do not take the sample, rather they give you the swab to do your own. Do you believe you are capable of sticking a swab fully into the back of your nose until you gag and getting an adequate sample? A positive test is useful, a negative may be from a poorly collected sample.

There is no such thing as
Antigen is a test for the viral organism itself, or active disease. The blood test is for antibodies which may evidence that you had an infection in the near past. There are concerns about the reliability of the blood tests as there are both false positives, saying you have antibodies when you don't, and false negatives, suggesting you never were infected but you were.

Many commercial insurance companies have liberal policies on Covid testing including waiving copay, coinsurance, and deductibles. So even if you have an unmet $3000 deductible they may pick up the cost of Covid testing

THIS WEBSITE will give you up to date information on your company, listed alphabetically. I would however certainly call the 800 number to verify before getting a test out of curiosity.

So why do people stand in line to get tested? Because it may well be the only local way to get the nasal test properly done without also incurring a doctor office or ER visit bill and wait.

The Sumter Co DOH does do nasal testing on symptomatic patients in their Bushnell location only, by appointment.

They also are running two nasal swab collection community testing events, no symptoms required but an appointment is, in Wildwood for a total of 6 hours on Jul 20 and Jul 22

Wildwood Community Center COVID-19 testing | Florida Department of Health in Sumter

So that is the answer to why people stand in line for testing. There are not other options that entail less time or effort. I would strongly encourage people who go to that kind community screening events to wear a mask and social distance. You can be nearly certain that you are going to be exposed to Covid in that environment.

So, A little more education:

Blood Test= test for antibodies (meaning that you have been exposed to the virus at some point. Fact: nobody knows how long you will have antibodies protecting you against obtaining the virus in the future). The specificity of the test of antibodies is still not high enough for complete accuracy, so you have false negatives and false positives.

Nasal Swab= Only tells you if you have an ACTIVE infection, this means you can shed the virus to others regardless if you are having symptoms or not...

Obtaining "test" of any kind without symptoms doesn't make sense to me. The only time I see relevant is when it is required or helping peace of mind for the inquiring mind. Some nursing homes are requiring test every two weeks to be able enter to see love ones. Some people are driving themselves crazy with wanting to know.

Those who test negative with will eventually enter the grocery store, play community sports and be exposed to other people. Thus, exposure causes the virus. Continue to use precautions and report any symptoms to your family doctor.

why are people getting tested if they are not sick or in contact with anyone sick or tested positive? I was in contact with someone who was exposed, they were tested and were negative. Are people just fearful they may have it, because the test is a period in time, just because you test negative doesn't mean you cannot get it two weeks from now. I wonder if these places getting paid from Medicare if positive? Hospitals are getting thousands of dollars for positive patients and positive deaths.

Far more uninformed in this area than you would expect. This could be the result of depending upon mainstream media as the sole source of information.

You can walk into Paramount urgent care w out an spot and be tested. You mind not even have to pay your your co pay. Call your ins co. UHC Medicare is paying until July 24. It was on their website.

You answered your own question there. :D However wouldn't it be good to know if one is asymptomatic and spreading the virus to everyone they come up to especially if NOT wearing masks which seems to be a largely political issue?

I'm under the impression the active Covid disease test is a naso pharyngeal swab. The test for Covid anitibodies is a blood test. Anyone know if I'm not correct?

Yes, plus more. See bottom of linked page and page 2 here: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Testing

Test for Current Infection
Viral tests check samples from your respiratory system, such as a swab from the inside of your nose, to tell you if you currently have an infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Some tests are point-of-care tests, meaning results may be available at the testing site in less than an hour. Other tests must be sent to a laboratory to analyze, a process that takes 1–2 days once received by the lab.

Test for Past Infection (Antibody Test)
Antibody tests check your blood by looking for antibodies, which may tell you if you had a past infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. Antibodies are proteins that help fight off infections and can provide protection against getting that disease again (immunity). Antibodies are disease specific. For example, measles antibodies will protect you from getting measles if you are exposed to it again, but they won’t protect you from getting mumps if you are exposed to mumps.

Except in instances in which viral testing is delayed, antibody tests should not be used to diagnose a current COVID-19 infection. An antibody test may not show if you have a current COVID-19 infection because it can take 1–3 weeks after infection for your body to make antibodies. To see if you are currently infected, you need a viral test. Viral tests identify the virus in samples from your respiratory system, such as a swab from the inside of your nose.

Testing for COVID-19 | CDC

Viral testing now can be a swab sample from the nose, the Abbott Rapid test given at Wallgreens is an example.