Quote from: xyzzy099 on March 04, 2020, 11:41:54 PM

Quote from: HairyMaclairy on March 04, 2020, 11:27:28 PM

Quote from: xyzzy099 on March 04, 2020, 11:17:19 PM

Quote from: HairyMaclairy on March 04, 2020, 10:45:12 PM

Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you dont have medical insurance in the US, the cost of a Coronavirus test is $3,200.

Poor people who cant afford health insurance arent going to get tested in the USA.

According to this: https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/covid-19-tests-dont-cost-over-3000/ , that is not true.

Also, from https://www.ahip.org/keeping-americans-safe-from-coronavirus-covid-19/

Quote

What to Know About Treatment and Coverage

At this time, the CDC is the only facility equipped to test for COVID 19, or to designate other laboratories to do so. The CDC is not billing for testing for COVID 19, so patients will not incur costs when tested by the CDC.

Ok - according to your link the test is free. But it costs $3200 to visit a doctor to get the free test. Am I reading that correctly?

The test (as of now) is free. I am pretty sure $3200 is not representative of what a US citizen typically pays for a doctor visit.

One anecdotal instance of how much someone spent on emergency care really should not be misrepresented as 'the cost of a Coronavirus test [in the US]', especially since it may discourage those who think they may need to be tested from doing so.

The first thing you have to know about the US is that a large portion of the population has no health insurance, does not go to the doctor, and has probably only seen a doctor a few times in their lifetime.

They don't have a doctor, don't really know where to find one on short notice, and aren't going to wait for an appointment if there is something so extreme as to get them to see a doctor. They only use emergency rooms for care, and some never intend to pay. Hospitals know this, which is why they charge $3000 for a visit to the emergency room (this is a real number btw from personal experience taking an ex girlfriend). Their collection department is hoping to get a 10% return on the amount they bill through collection agencies.