Texas man shocked after his Covid test-not the result but bill

Texas-based Travis was not shocked to see his Covid-19 test result as it was negative but surprising to see his bill.

Travis Warner was charged $56,384, including $54,000 (over Rs 40 lakh) for a PCR test and the rest for an antigen test and facility fee, npr.org reported.

Such stories are not new in the United States. Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, such instances of shockingly high prices for Covid-19 tests have come to the fore. Usually, PCR Covid-19 tests cost anywhere between $8 to $15 in the US.

His bill for some tests was $54000. His wife’s insurance negotiated her cost down to $1000!! PCR tests themselves can cost.

Travis warner work to install internet and video systems, and his work was going very well during Covid-19 as people used to sit home and watch the internet. Though his time maintained social distancing and mask-wearing protocol, during June 2020 his one employee came Covid positive.

Due to limited testing availability at that time, Warner and his wife drove around 30 minutes from their home in Dallas to a free-standing emergency room in Lewisville. Warner, 36, had a health plan from Molina Healthcare.

This is where he was handed the astronomical bill of $56,384. Molina Healthcare's negotiated rate for both tests and the facility fee totalled $16,915.20, which the insurer paid in full.

Interestingly, his wife who underwent the same tests the same day at the same place was billed $2,000. She has a separate insurance policy, which settled the claim for less than $1,000.

For coronavirus tests there is no cap to what providers can charge," said Loren Adler, associate director of the USC-Brookings Schaeffer Initiative for Health Policy.

When asked about Warner's Covid-19 test bill, a spokesperson for Molina Healthcare told npr.org, "This matter was a provider billing error which Molina identified and corrected."