Illinois Coronavirus: Matteson man billed
nearly $2K after being tested for COVID-19
ABC7-TV (Chicago),
by
Samantha Chatman
Original Article
Posted By: AltaD,
4/21/2020 5:03:03 PM
A Matteson man said he got tested for the coronavirus, and is now being asked to pay nearly $2,000 for it.
Now, on top of a scary health battle, Donald Utoh said he's now having to fight a financial one. (Snip) In a statement to the ABC7 I-Team, Franciscan Health said it had already given the patient a 77 percent uninsured discount, leaving him with that balance of $1,959.
The cost of the COVID-19 was only $119, but part of their protocol is to run a series of tests to ensure the patient gets the most accurate treatment.
Utoh said he was only swabbed twice: first to
Reply 1 - Posted by:
Venturer 4/21/2020 5:05:05 PM (No. 386929)
Sounds like robbery to me.
8 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
synchronicity 4/21/2020 5:16:46 PM (No. 386939)
Two swabs = $8,517. I'm staying away from the medical establishment if I don't feel well, common sense and prayers are a lot cheaper and probably more effective.
17 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 4/21/2020 5:38:26 PM (No. 386962)
Did he ever think about asking the cost of what he is about to purchase?
5 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Strike3 4/21/2020 5:41:54 PM (No. 386966)
The testing is for their benefit, not the patient's. They can't cure it anyway, all they can do is make you comfortable. I can buy a lot of comfort at home for two grand. Everybody is rooting for the "heroes" in the medical profession right now but these clowns are acting like lawyers.
13 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
wilarrbie 4/21/2020 6:20:12 PM (No. 386994)
The 'protocols' are there indeed for the hospital's benefit more than the patient's. See - if he tells them he's concerned he might have the virus and they only test him for that and he has something else they DON'T test him for and he gets sicker - he lawyers up and the hospital assumes responsibility for the entire financial upkeep of the individual for the rest of his life or something close to it. BECAUSE lawyers will get involved and lawsuit jackpot money flows like unclotted blood. WE DID THIS. Remember that next time the easy money commercial comes on that tells you if medicine or doctors or a hospital event didn't turn out with flowers and unicorns for you - call 1-800-class-action-bandwagon.
7 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
Sandpiper 4/21/2020 6:41:38 PM (No. 387019)
I have a question for the medical professionals who read this: what additional tests can be run on test swabs? Isn’t there a limited amount of tissue to work with?
Sincere question, I am not in the field of medicine.
4 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Skeptical1 4/21/2020 7:10:07 PM (No. 387048)
The hospital says that the COVID swab itself was $195 and the remainder of the bill was for other services. They probably can't say what they were because of HIPAA, but it would help us to understand how outraged we're supposed to be. I was swabbed at the Stanford on-campus drive-through clinic, and although it was only a five minute visit (and really kind of a fun experience), there were a lot of overheads that would need to be covered. Lots of staff (bless them), a big drive-thru tent, insurance, lab fees, etc. If this guy walked into a hospital the overheads might be even higher, because of the extra PPE costs, so $195 would be kind of a bargain. I haven't seen my bill yet, but Stanford, though a wonderful place to receive care, is famously expensive. Thank God for Medicare.
3 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
bighambone 4/21/2020 7:55:36 PM (No. 387074)
I thought that the US Government was going to defray the costs of corona virus testing?
4 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
DVC 4/21/2020 8:42:59 PM (No. 387120)
So, are the health care people supposed to work for free?
It sounds like calling this "a test" is far from accurate. The article says it is a series of tests.
1 person likes this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
hershey 4/21/2020 9:56:35 PM (No. 387163)
I'm not at all sure about hospital billing...early in March I had an 'episode' that I thought was a heart attack...bottom line, I got my March insurance statement...total cost for 24 hours in the hospital, ER, one X-Ray, lab (blood tests for heart enzymes and whatever else) work and misc stuff, and one day in a room was $13,958.00..the insurance co. managed a $9,500 discount and I ended up paying $0.00...14K for 1 day seems a bit high....
0 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Trigger2 4/22/2020 2:24:18 AM (No. 387254)
This sounds more like the demonrats screwing a black man again.
0 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
ARKfamily 4/22/2020 6:04:58 AM (No. 387302)
In the last couple of years, I have had two episodes where I was taken by ambulance. Each one came in around $1000 out of pocket and that didn't include any of the expenses of the emergency room etc.
Given that I was very thankful to have these resources available, I paid in full.
Where I have a problem is situations like Jussie Smollett. I do not understand why some people have to pay for situations and others skate.
2 people like this.
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$2000 is the discounted price?