COVID-19 treatment

What’s covered and what is not

Testing and vaccination against the virus that causes COVID-19 are free under the law, but treatment is not.

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What’s covered COVID-19 tests and vaccinations are free for everyone, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the CARES Act.

Private insurers cannot bill for vaccinations and generally aren’t supposed to bill for a COVID-19 test. The same holds true if you’re on Medicare or Medicaid.

If you don’t have insurance, the law provides funds to cover testing and vaccination costs so providers shouldn’t bill you.

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Waivers Many private insurers have voluntarily waived cost-sharing for COVID-19-related treatments, including copays, payments toward deductible and coinsurance. But that could change soon.

The national public health emergency period ends April 21. It may be extended by 90 days, given that we’re not out of the woods yet. Insurers could resume normal cost-sharing when the emergency period ends.

People may have lingering symptoms or conditions needing treatment, says Adam Fox , deputy director at the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative, a nonprofit health advocacy organization.

“It’s not easy to distinguish what may be COVID-related or not after somebody initially recovers,” he says. “In most cases, insurance companies are not going to categorize follow-up care as COVID-related.”

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Bills Medical billing doesn’t go smoothly in the best of times. Expect more issues as the pandemic continues, Fox says. Ask for an itemized bill. This will help you spot errors like duplicate bill codes. Compare the charges with your explanation of benefits to see if they are covered.

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Negotiate You can always negotiate medical bills, says Jan Stone, a medical billing advocate at Stoneworks Healthcare Advocates. If you don’t have insurance, ask your health care provider upfront what services you’ll be charged for.

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Get help: If you can, hire a medical billing advocate to negotiate complicated bills for you or seek claims assistance from professionals via Claims.org. If you have complaints about COVID-19 bills, contact the Department of Health and Human Services. You can also file a complaint with your state attorney general or insurance commissioner.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet. Want to suggest a personal finance topic that Quick Fix can address? Email apmoney@ap.org.