Media Coverage

As coronavirus continues its spread across the U.S., public health officials are racing to make more test kits available and laboratories are working around the clock to test for the virus that has killed more than a dozen people in the U.S. and infected more than 230. The federal agency in charge of testing efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is under fire for what one top national health official told CNN Friday were "missteps" that slowed efforts to contain the virus.

Three states now require insurers to limit out-of-pocket costs related to coronavirus testing, and more may soon jump on board. Tests administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for COVID-19, the disease caused by a new virus called SARS-CoV-2, are free. But many patients still face bills from related doctor’s appointments and hospital visits.[CR-LF][CR-LF]In Florida, a patient reported a staggering $3,270 bill after getting tested to see if he had COVID-19. A blood test confirmed he just had the flu, but then he was stuck with the bill; his catastrophic insurance plan refused to cover the balance, according to the Miami Herald.

The United States "desperately" needs more tests to screen for the new coronavirus, a public health expert told Congress on Friday.[CR-LF][CR-LF]"Testing capacity is not currently adequate, and we need more," said Dr. Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection prevention for the Johns Hopkins Health System and an epidemiologist. "We need this as soon as we can have it."[CR-LF][CR-LF]Maragakis' remarks were part of a briefing on Capitol Hill by five experts from Johns Hopkins, which has been tracking the international outbreak.

The Trump administration has faced criticism over the availability of coronavirus test kits in the United States. Vice President Mike Pence has said any American would be able to get tested for the disease it causes, COVID-19 — but acknowledged this week, as the government raced to distribute tests, that the capacity wasn't there yet.[CR-LF][CR-LF]So what should someone do if they want to get tested?[CR-LF][CR-LF]According to the American Hospital Association, people who think they have the coronavirus should call their physician to see if a test is warranted. If so, they will direct you to an appropriate testing site.

The administration is working to quickly expand testing by making the kits more readily available to state and local laboratories across the country as the case count increases, particularly among patients who did not travel to China — the origin of the outbreak — and have no direct link to travelers.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Initially, the government limited the testing to only those exhibiting symptoms of the virus who had also traveled to China. The tests were only being performed in a handful of laboratories in certain states at first.

Public health officials have been clamoring for greater testing capacity to help them combat the spread of the new coronavirus in their communities. Now, as testing is poised to become more widely available from commercial labs, the cost of those diagnostic tests could become a factor in the effort to control the virus.[CR-LF][CR-LF]Lab Corp. announced Thursday it was immediately offering testing for COVID-19, while Quest Diagnostics said it will start testing specimens next week, increasing the options for hospitals, physicians offices and urgent care clinics.

President Trump, on a visit to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, asserted that coronavirus tests are available to "anybody." "Anybody that wants a test can get a test," he said. "That's what the bottom line is."[CR-LF][CR-LF][CR-LF]And he added, "Anybody right now and yesterday, anybody that needs a test gets a test. They're there. They have the tests and the tests are beautiful. Anybody that needs a test gets a test. If there's a doctor that wants to test, if there's somebody coming off a ship like the big monster ship that's out there right now, which you know again, that's a big decision. Do I wanna bring all of those people on? People would like me to do that. I don't like the idea of doing it."

New coronavirus cases emerge across the country. Michigan is the biggest of the six primary states voting next week. And, a cease-fire between Turkey and Russia is in effect in northwestern Syria.

Nearly a week after the first U.S. coronavirus death was announced, the Trump administration scrambled Friday to meet its target for increasing the number of people able to be tested. But it still could take weeks for the actual tests to take place.[CR-LF][CR-LF]HHS Secretary Alex Azar told reporters that the government had shipped out materials for 700,000 coronavirus tests — well short of the 1.5 million that Vice President Mike Pence had said would be available to hospitals this week, in remarks on Wednesday. Late Friday, Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir told POLITICO that more tests passed quality checks, bringing the total ready to 1.5 million.

Hospitals across the state are preparing for an influx of people wondering whether they’ve contracted coronavirus by making plans for “triage centers” outside their main buildings.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The centers could be tents in hospital parking lots, or temporary trailers or office space, not necessarily near the hospitals that would open them.[CR-LF][CR-LF]The extra infrastructure would be used primarily for screening and testing, not treatment, in order to keep people who think they may have contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus out of waiting rooms and emergency departments where people with otherwise compromised immune systems might be.