The predicted problems with private insurance covering Covid tests are all coming true
tests can cost as much as $50). If an insurance company doesn’t arrange for any preferred locations, the customer will need to submit receipts and paperwork to be fully reimbursed.
This policy setup not only demands that people know about the plan and a bit about how it works, but it also requires them to reach out to their insurance provider to figure out what benefits they are eligible for. As Natalie Shure, figuring out how she could get free tests this weekend by contacting her insurance company was a huge hassle:
After being transferred three times, I was simply informed that they’d reimburse me for tests. I stopped to clarify: Will they reimburse full freight for any test? Or do they have a preferred vendor where we can get them for free? I was put on hold for several minutes, while whomever I was on the phone with scurried away to find the answer to the obvious question his employer hadn’t prepped him for, after which I was finally told that their partner pharmacy is Walmart.
According to Google Maps, I live a 39-minute drive away from the nearest Walmart, or a whopping one hour and 23 minutes away by public transit. Unless I make that trek , my reimbursement requires me to save receipts, fill out paperwork, and mail it to my insurer if I want to get paid back less than half of what I paid for my last test at CVS. By the time I hung up the phone, the call had lasted 38 minutes.
As Shure’s call illustrates, it seems even insurance companies themselves aren’t prepared for this rollout. Had someone not as informed as Shure called and not pressed for details, they wouldn’t have been told where to go for free tests or how reimbursement works — and doesn’t work.