U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Robert Scott (D-VA) introduced the No Surprises for COVID-19 Tests Act last week to close legislative loopholes and extend free COVID-19 testing.
COVID-19 tests were meant to be free and widely available as a result of the CARES Act, but some companies are seeking ways around that, according to the legislators.
Their legislation directly responds to the Coronavirus Aide, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020. The bill would support COVID-19 testing as free even beyond the current Public Health Emergency, clamp down on price gouging, and bar providers from slapping patients with surprise medical bills for these tests.
“Congress passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act to ensure that everyone would have access to free and widely available COVID-19 testing,” Pallone, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said. “Unfortunately, some test providers are exploiting unintended loopholes in the system to unfairly price gouge and wrongfully bill patients for tests that should be free. The No Surprises for COVID-19 Tests Act will close these loopholes and ensure that Americans do not receive surprise medical bills for doing their part to stop the spread of COVID-19. Congress must act on this commonsense legislation soon.”
Despite stipulations in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020 that expanded free COVID-19 testing access to all Americans, regardless of their insurance coverage status for the rest of the Public Health Emergency, the congressmen cited reports of labs charging insurers and others significant prices for tests just because they can. The No Surprises for COVID-19 Tests Act would extend the coverage of free COVID-19 testing until Dec. 31, 2023. As part of this, insurance companies would be required to continue offering coverage for related items and services without adding cost-sharing, such as health provider office visits, urgent care visits, and emergency room visits resulting in COVID-19 testing.
The No Surprises for COVID-19 Tests act would also extend provisions from the No Surprises Act of 2020 to COVID-19 testing and related services while striking a provision that allowed providers to bill at whatever cash price they desired for COVID-19 tests.
“One of the most critical steps Congress took at the onset of the pandemic was providing Americans with free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. We must provide consumers with the certainty that this protection will remain in effect in the months ahead,” Scott, chairman of the Education and Labor Committee, said. “The last thing families need during this ongoing public health emergency is an unexpected medical bill for a COVID-19 test.”