How much does coronavirus testing cost?
Many factors determine price an individual pays
The importance of widespread COVID-19 testing has dominated discussion about the pandemic, prompting politicians to enact measures in an attempt to improve access to tests and health care companies and providers to change their policy to do the same.
The price of getting tested has evoked confusion.
Fact checkers debunked a viral claim that receiving a test for the coronavirus cost one person more than $3,000. Now a different claim is making the rounds.
A Facebook post that has amassed more than 30,000 shares says testing kits in the USA cost $119 each. The writer tried to make the point that test kits are far more expensive in the USA than in Germany, where a kit of 100 tests is $180, the post claims.
It’s unclear whether the post refers to the price health care providers pay for test kits or the price individuals pay to be tested one time. USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user for clarification but did not receive a response.
Cost of test kits
A “test kit,” as the claim says, is a box of supplies to administer tests to diagnose people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s initial test kit could “test approximately 700 to 800 patient specimens,” according to a news release in February.
Test kits from private companies can sometimes test hundreds of specimens. But “the actual number of people who could be diagnosed with each will be lower because patients may have multiple samples or samples may be run in duplicate,” Jessica McDonald, a science writer with a PhD in virology, explained in March for FactCheck.org.
The Food and Drug Administration’s website lists more than 80 approved SARS-CoV-2 test kit manufacturers. Many of these manufacturers’ websites
do not list the costs of these kits, making it difficult to know how much health care providers pay for them.
USA TODAY contacted a handful of these companies for their prices, most of which did not immediately respond. Ruben Argueta, director of investor relations at Quidel, said one of the company’s tests costs “about $23 per test to the end user, in this case our health care providers,” and 25 tests come in one kit.
In March, Bloomberg reported on a German biotech company that got an early start on developing a COVID-19 test. The manufacturer has made 40,000 test kits, which is enough to administer 4 million tests (meaning there are 100 tests per kit). The cost is reported to be about $180.
Cost of tests for individuals
The cost of testing for individuals varies based on who administers the test and an individual’s insurance plan.
Tests given by the CDC or at public health departments are free. In March, Vice President Mike Pence deemed coronavirus tests an essential health benefit, which under the Affordable Care Act means Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers will cover it.
People with private or employee health insurance might have to pay some of the cost of testing. The cost varies based on insurance provider and plan, but some large providers pledged to waive all patient costs on coronavirus testing.
Aetna, a health insurer owned by CVS, announced it will cover the cost of testing “with no out-of-pocket costs or cost sharing,” CNBC reported. Cigna, another large insurer, is doing the same.
The board of America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade group that represents many large publicly traded insurers, including Humana, a majority of the Blue Cross plans and UnitedHealthcare, said in a blog post its members moved quickly to “eliminate patient cost sharing for COVID-19 diagnostic testing and treatment.”
Because of the limited number of available tests, people may need to get a doctor’s approval or alternative tests that may be pricey before receiving a test as per CDC, local or state guidelines.
Keeping test costs low
A few state officials have taken action to lower the price of testing.
The Hill reported in March that “governors in New York, Washington and California issued guidance … prohibiting health insurers from imposing costsharing on individuals seeking coronavirus tests.” These guidelines do not extend to self-funded programs offered by employers.
There are holes in these protections, as Kaiser Health News reported: “The law prohibits insurers from charging patients for testing, but it does not block medical providers from doing so. If an insurer does not cover the total amount charged by a provider, the patient may get balance-billed, or slapped with a surprise charge.”
Individuals not covered by insurance can receive free testing at state or CDC facilities. Otherwise, they may have to pay for their tests.
The Facebook post may refer to the FDA’s first authorized at-home test, which does cost $119. CBS News reported on the at-home test April 22, the same day the Facebook post was published.
That test would not be permitted in New York, New Jersey, Maryland or Rhode Island, which have laws that restrict self-administered tests. A LabCorp spokesman told CBS News some health care providers may cover part of the cost.
Our ruling: Partly false
The price of getting tested for the coronavirus in the USA is dependent upon many factors including location, insurance company and insurance plan. It is an oversimplification to say that receiving a test costs $119. It is entirely possible that testing would be free.
The claim-maker used the term “test kits,” which makes it unclear whether the writer was referring to the price of individual tests or the price health care providers pay for a kit of many tests. The price of many of these test kits aren’t publicly available. Though the athome test does cost $119, insurance providers may cover part of this cost.
Our fact check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.