The Cost of Covid-19
New reporting is increasingly showing that people are getting hefty bills for Covid-19 care and testing.
A recent story from MLK50 Memphis details one woman’s Covid-19 struggle and subsequent medical debt. Nursing assistant Sepia Coleman cared for people with Covid-19 as part of her job. After she got the virus, she didn’t have the insurance or money for her own care. When she was hospitalized for virus symptoms her medical bills skyrocketed, and she was left owing $20,000.
The New York Times also reported this week that despite the fact that Covid-19 tests are supposed to be free for Americans, many people are getting high medical bills. Some families are asked to pay over $2,000. The Times reports that about 2.4% of coronavirus tests billed to insurers leave the patient responsible for some portion of payment. “In some cases, the charges appear to violate new federal laws that aim to make coronavirus tests free for privately insured patients,” the story says. “In other cases, insurers are interpreting gray areas in these new rules in ways that work in their favor.”
