‘An Arm and a Leg’: How to Avoid a Big Bill for Your COVID Test

By Dan Weissmann November 30, 2020

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About This Podcast

Health care — and how much it costs — is scary. But you’re not alone with this stuff, and knowledge is power. “An Arm and a Leg” is a podcast about these issues, and its second season is co-produced by KHN.

Visit armandalegshow.com

Tests for the coronavirus are supposed to be free. And, usually, they are. But sometimes … things happen. Here’s how to keep those things from happening to you.

New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff has been asking readers to send in their COVID-testing bills. She’s now seen hundreds of them, and she ran down for us the most common ways things can go sideways, and how to avoid them.

First off, she said: “I don’t want people to think, ‘Holy crap, I should just not get tested for coronavirus because it’s going to cost me a ton of money.’ You absolutely should. And the odds are that you will not get a surprise bill, and it will cost zero dollars.” Still, if only 2% of people end up with a surprise bill and a million people a day are getting coronavirus tests, that’s a lot of surprise bills, she noted.

Kliff’s top tip is to avoid getting a test in an emergency room, where you might get charged a “facility fee” that your insurance doesn’t cover.

“An Arm and a Leg” is a co-production of Kaiser Health News and Public Road Productions.

To keep in touch with “An Arm and a Leg,” subscribe to the newsletter. You can also follow the show on Facebook and Twitter. And if you’ve got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers would love to hear from you.

To hear all Kaiser Health News podcasts, click here.

And subscribe to “An Arm and a Leg” on iTunes, Pocket Casts, Google Play or Spotify.

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‘An Arm and a Leg’: How to Avoid a Big Bill for Your COVID Test

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<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/how-to-avoid-a-big-bill-for-your-covid-test/">Click here to listen.</a></em></p>

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<p><em>Can’t see the audio player? <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/episode/how-to-avoid-a-big-bill-for-your-covid-test/">Click here to listen.</a></em></p>

<p>Tests for the coronavirus are supposed to be free. And, usually, they are. But sometimes … things happen. Here’s how to keep those things from happening to <em>you</em>.</p>
<p>New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff has been asking readers to send in their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/upshot/coronavirus-surprise-bills-guide.html">COVID-testing bills</a>. She’s now seen hundreds of them, and she ran down for us the most common ways things can go sideways, and how to avoid them.</p>
<p>First off, she said: “I don’t want people to think, ‘Holy crap,  I should just not get tested for coronavirus because it’s going to cost me a ton of money.’ You absolutely should. And the odds are that you will not get a surprise bill, and it will cost zero dollars.” Still, if only 2% of people end up with a surprise bill and a million people a day are getting coronavirus tests, that’s a lot of surprise bills, she noted.</p>
<p>Kliff’s top tip is to avoid getting a test in an emergency room, where you might get charged a “facility fee” that your insurance doesn’t cover.</p>

<p>“An Arm and a Leg” is a co-production of Kaiser Health News and Public Road Productions.</p>
<p>To keep in touch with “An Arm and a Leg,” <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/newsletter/">subscribe to the newsletter</a>. You can also follow the show on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/armandalegshow/">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/armandalegshow">Twitter</a>. And if you’ve got stories to tell about the health care system, the producers <a href="https://armandalegshow.com/contact-us/">would love to hear from you</a>.</p>
<p><em>To hear all Kaiser Health News podcasts, <a href="https://kffhealthnews.org/news/tag/podcast/">click here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>And subscribe to “An Arm and a Leg” on <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/an-arm-and-a-leg/id1438778444">iTunes</a>, <a href="https://play.pocketcasts.com/web/discover/podcast/6e9e33e0-b911-0136-7b93-27f978dac4db">Pocket Casts</a>, <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hcm1hbmRhbGVnc2hvdy5jb20vZmVlZC9wb2RjYXN0Lw%3D%3D">Google Play</a> or <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3wBgLSbYPKT3gnd9KGjz5t?si=jEMzB2soS_ayOsYbK0cmnQ">Spotify</a>.</em></p>
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<p>Tests for the coronavirus are supposed to be free. And, usually, they are. But sometimes … things happen. Here’s how to keep those things from happening to <em>you</em>.</p>
<p>New York Times reporter Sarah Kliff has been asking readers to send in their <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/13/upshot/coronavirus-surprise-bills-guide.html">COVID-testing bills</a>. She’s now seen hundreds of them, and she ran down for us the most common ways things can go sideways, and how to avoid them.</p>
<p>First off, she said: “I don’t want people to think, ‘Holy crap,  I should just not get tested for coronavirus because it’s going to cost me a ton of money.’ You absolutely should. And the odds are that you will not get a surprise bill, and it will cost zero dollars.” Still, if only 2% of people end up with a surprise bill and a million people a day are getting coronavirus tests, that’s a lot of surprise bills, she noted.</p>
<p>Kliff’s top tip is to avoid getting a test in an emergency room, where you might get charged a “facility fee” that your insurance doesn’t cover.</p>

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