COVID tests will now cost from $10 to $150. Will we still swab?

Many Long Islanders accustomed to free COVID-19 tests will have to pay $10 or more for at-home kits, with in-office tests expected to cost an average of $130 to $150. and some people may stop being tested, experts predict.

With the federal COVID-19 public health emergency expiring on May 11, the government is requiring insurance companies to pay 8 per insured person per month. The federal government plans to end free tests as it will no longer be mandatory to pay for up to one home test.distribution of test by mail after Wednesday.

The insurance obligation for free outpatient PCR tests and rapid tests at clinics and emergency centers has also ended. According to one report, the cost of taking a rapid test or antigen test is now typically around $130, including a consultation fee, and a typical PCR test is estimated at $150. Recent analysis By KFF, a health policy nonprofit based in San Francisco.

Jennifer Cates, senior vice president and director of global health and HIV policy, said COVID-19 is now more like any other disease, with consumers facing high bills, unexpected expenses and too much money. He said they could face difficult choices about whether to withhold treatment or testing. KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“Generally, we’re getting back to the US healthcare system as we knew it,” she said. “The impact of COVID-19 is simply that costs and access were protected because of the emergency. And now many of those protections have ended or will end.”

Mara Aspinall, a professor of practice at Arizona State University and an expert in biomedical diagnostics, predicted that those who could afford testing would continue to do so.

“For a family of four, and for so many Americans, adding this as an additional expense is very difficult,” Aspinall said.

The average price for a home rapid test last month was $11, according to a KFF analysis.

Will the Long Islanders continue testing?

In interviews, Long Islanders were divided on whether to continue testing.

Dave Ali, 47, of Roslyn said he would pay to be tested.

“I have a family at home, and I have children,” he said. “I definitely want to know if I’ve been exposed to anything so they don’t get sick.”

But Ali said, “For some people, $11 for a COVID-19 test is a lot. It’s $11. ’ But for some families, that would mean eating dinner or not. ”

Last year’s national survey found that nearly a quarter of those who received free federal testing probably never would have been tested outside of the federal government, especially black respondents who have used other home testing kits. , the researchers wrote. April article In the Federal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Uniondale resident Jayla Thomas, 18, said she used a free rapid test at home in the past “every time I felt unwell.”

But when St. John’s freshman Thomas said the test now costs an average of $11, it’s “not worth it” because the results are likely to be negative anyway. .

“It should still be free,” she said. “If not, we’ll have to find a way to cover it with insurance.”

test options

Newsday’s survey of coverage from several major insurers found that few currently offer free at-home testing, and one that still does say how long the program will last. It turned out that they did not disclose. All said, depending on insurance policies and deductibles, tests performed at outpatient facilities such as clinics could include out-of-pocket costs or deductibles.

Cates said it was unclear how many insurance companies would continue to pay for the tests now that they are no longer mandatory.

There are still some places where Long Islanders can get free tests at home.

State Health Department spokeswoman Daniel D’Souza said the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance programs and the Essential Plan for low-income New Yorkers who don’t qualify for Medicaid will offer free testing through at least September 2024.

People who do not have insurance can still be tested around Long Island under the following provisions. federal programsHowever, only if you have been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms.

Sun River Health, which operates 11 federally licensed health centers in Suffolk serving millions of uninsured and underinsured people, provides health services to people of all income levels. , said Roberta Kelly, who is still handing out four free home tests provided by the federal government to those who want them. Director of Nursing at Sunriver. Sunriver is also offering free PCR testing as long as federal supplies continue.

Harmony Healthcare, Nassau’s equivalent of Sun River, conducts on-site tests and charges insurance companies for policyholders, said Harmony’s president and CEO. ) said David Nemiroff.

“We are doing very few tests. We used to do hundreds a day, now we are lucky if we do 50 a week,” he said.

Coronavirus test sales plummet

Even before the charges were applied, sales of COVID-19 tests were plummeting, according to data from Chicago-based data analytics firm NIQ. In-store test sales in the first quarter of 2022 dropped from 802 million to 173 million in the first quarter of this year.

Aspinall said that’s partly because the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths has fallen, eliminating the need for businesses and medical facilities that previously required testing. Stated. But it’s also because most Americans don’t think about COVID-19 as much as they used to, she says.

“It’s always been in people’s heads and the numbers were high. Fortunately, we’re in a completely different phase now,” she said.

Still, she said testing is crucial to protect those who remain at serious potential risk from COVID-19, such as the elderly and those with weakened immune systems.

Martin Hackett, director of public health programs at Hofstra University, said people who skipped testing could have a more severe illness than if they had been tested and treated.

And people who unknowingly have COVID-19 can put others at risk, she said.

“That means they could be spreading it without realizing it,” she said.

The cost of testing is not the only new coronavirus expense facing residents.

Cates said the federal government is expected to run out of supplies of the government’s free supply of the COVID-19 treatment Paxrovid for people at high risk of severe COVID-19 later this year. ing.

Pfizer doesn’t disclose market costs, but Cates said it would likely exceed the $530 per course of treatment paid by the government. “Patient co-payments are variable and determined,” company spokeswoman Kit Longley said in a statement. by insurance companies. ”

As with other drugs, Cates said some people helped by Paxlovid may choose not to pay for it, saying, “It has health implications.” rice field.

Governments may run out of free vaccines, or federal officials may recommend new vaccines that are more capable of fighting the ever-changing virus. But even if the vaccine does reach the private market, it will usually be free, Cates said. Insurers will have to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine and certain other vaccines administered within the network, he said. And federal programs now provide vaccines to the uninsured.