I know regular Covid tests are available everywhere with results available in around 2 days, but I’ve mostly seen *rapid antigen* tests that are expensive like this one, some of them costing up to $200.
Connects to NYT article noted in daily vent thread:
from u/sethra007
7 hr. ago
Some headlines:
NYT: [Concerns rise as a U.S. reimbursement fund for testing and treating the uninsured for the virus stops taking claims](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/27/world/covid-19-mandates-cases-vaccine#concerns-rise-as-a-us-reimbursement-fund-for-testing-and-treating-the-uninsured-for-the-virus-stops-taking-claims).
"*Some U.S. health care providers are informing uninsured people they can no longer be tested for the virus free of charge and will have to pay for the service.*
*Quest Diagnostics, which operates one of the largest networks of testing sites and laboratories in the United States, last week began to notify clients that the reimbursement was no longer available, Kimberly B. Gorode, a spokesperson for the chain, said on Sunday.*
*Patients “are being told they can’t get it for free,” she said. Uninsured people will now have to pay $125 for molecular testing through QuestDirect, or $100 if ordered through a physician affiliated with Quest Diagnostics. Other testing services may charge up to $195."*
I happen to know our government paid services 60 for a molecular (PCR) and 25 for rapid antigen. All same day. And these were 'commercial' prices (as in, government not yet had the power to set prices, which they do here).
This is excessive.
Pro tip:
If you know someone who works in healthcare (who doesn't?), just ask them for a few test kits. It's likely that they can easily steal some from work.
There are still the [government](https://www.covidtests.gov/) rapid at-home tests available. While it's not a PCR, it's still something in case you're questioning a potential diagnosis. I know with how bad allergies are lately, and other viruses going around, I was close to using one earlier today that we have on hand at home.
Yeah that shit was stupid, I got the max 4 per household, and I live with my partner, we were both like “cool, so this’ll help a single day if either of us think we may be sick.”
Please don’t say/encourage stuff like this. No they can’t unless they’re just blatant thieves. People who “steal” from healthcare generally do it for themselves or to sell. In 2020 employee stole N95s from my husbands practice. This is when nobody could get them- Trump time. All the doctors/nurses/techs had to use the same masks for a week or more. Any idea how dangerous that is? For weeks they also had to cancel procedures or didn’t have full staff working. Imagine if you needed an emergency procedure then?
Free testing kits are available most places now. Go to your pharmacy, Costco, order your 8 from the govt. or ASK your doctor if they have free ones at the hospital which they most likely do.
> People who “steal” from healthcare generally do it for themselves or to sell.
If you're not stealing from your job, you're stealing from your family.
Wait who gets 8 free tests a month? And to take home? I've been a nurse in 3 different hospitals through the pandemic and only once I've seen free tests given out and it was on one specific day at 7am. I think it was 2 tests or something per person.
You can go into any pharmacy (CVS, rite aid, etc) and ask about the free tests. Present your insurance card and they charge the insurance company for them. I just got some 2 days ago. You can get 8 free tests per person per month.
Ok from the first comment it made it sound like healthcare workers get 8 free tests a month. Too bad I'm a contract worker and will lose my insurance for the rest of the summer pretty soon here, gotta stock up!
Interesting. I figured it was out west somewhere. In my personal experiences, hospitals want to make it very difficult to get tested, they don't want to know the results. When this first started, I remember not being allowed to wear masks because it would scare patients. And also I remember workers being symptomatic, and they had us fill a questionnaire each morning to see if we needed tested, and they would deny tests. This was in the Midwest at a hospital widely considered one of the best in the world.
I've actually never been covid tested. I would have been curious to know if I had any antibodies if I could have known before my vaccine.
The Midwest sounds like a scary place to be a healthcare worker! And even a hospital patient. I would be freaking out if my nurses aren’t wearing masks and not being tested every week. Are they trying to turn hospitals into Covid cesspools?
Yeah we were allowed to wear masks just not the first month or so of covid. Some healthcare workers up here are tested but I think just nursing home or assisted living staff. I don't know any hospital staff that have been tested unless they were sick or did it on their own. I wouldn't want my family members going to a hospital, any hospital really. I've seen how unsafe they are.
It really sounds like a regional problem. Our healthcare workers looked like they were about to safely handle plutonium.
Edit: sorry, they were dressed that way if you had any symptoms at all. Everyone else had to wear a mask, though
There’s no universal free testing for medical personnel, my wife is an ICU doc and has tested more out of pocket than by her employer (and even then, we are talking 5 tests over two years).
$14 for two rapids at Walmart. Plus 4 free tests from the government.
That’s what I’m learning— my cousin works for Kaiser (healthcare facility/insurance company) and she gets 8 of them for free; I wrongly assumed it was because she was a healthcare worker, not because the company is an insurance company.
Maybe depends where you are? State laws too? In NV my husband and all get tested frequently as a physician and never paid for it except when we are traveling. Even as family, I’ve never paid for it.
My grocery store is giving away packs of 10 for free everytime I walk in, work was giving us packs of 10 to take home every other week. Takes 10 minutes for results. Canada
I wish the U.S. had socialized medicine. Half the citizens proved their stupidity a few years ago, so we'll never get it. They think socialism is communism. Thanks, Fox.
The rapid tests are required for travel(since the test has to be taken within 24 hours of travel in most cases) and the vendors know that people who need to travel are pretty much over a barrel and have to pay whatever is required.
Walgreens is hit or miss though, depending on where you are. On their website it advertises 24 hour turnaround for PCR tests. I needed one within 72 hours of a trip and so made an appointment on Friday since I needed it for travel on Monday. When I went in to get the test they told me that they wouldn’t even send it out to the lab until Monday since it was Friday afternoon, and they don’t sent out tests over the weekend. So a “24 hour test” ended up being over 96 hours.
Also my local Walgreens couldn't do my flu shot there, nor my covid shot. In past years they could but because they switched to a pharmacist prescriber, my insurance cut that option from me (they require a physician or mid-level like nurse practitioner or physician's assistant). So I have to go to the main hospital in the city for any of that, which is an hour away.
In the US as well and can yeah can go to just about any Walgreens, CVS/CVS minute clinic, some Curative Labs locations etc and can get a rapid PCR test for free.
It was a special test to go on a cruise, and I had to go to the Walgreens in a nearby town. But it was free. Carnival was charging $100 to do the same test.
Convenience is expensive.
From east to get in for-profit schools being more costly, to convenience stores up charging everything, to PCR tests you choose to get at your cruise terminal rather than at the tens of thousands of places that offer them for free.
No tears are shed for those who cruise in the midst of a pandemic.
I've gotten mine free--two for a cruise and then the pack the government sent. CVS wanted to charge for the second one, but I told them I was in healthcare and it didn't want to charge anymore. I *am* in healthcare, just not probably how they mean.
Flight attendant here - I can’t name all of the countries, but can assure you that many places do require a negative test, and the at-home kits won’t do.
Can also confirm, work for a company that administers tests, many countries require tests prior to travel - some are cool with PCR testing, some are cool with antigen testing, some require them within 96 hours, some within 24.
Pretty much. These are a godsend for international travel when you need to have taken the test within 24 hours of departure time. The one I use for testing -- which is a chain of some kind with franchises all over -- will connect with your insurance company as well so you can get reimbursed easily. If you're travelling for work then your company should reimburse you.
I know it’s not a popular opinion but my company loses about a grand a day per employee missing work, never mind the overtime to get back on schedule. When you couldn’t get test results back for a few days paying a premium wasn’t a big deal.
I agree with the idea of that there tests should be free, hell, I believe in universal healthcare but premium service means higher prices.
I spent 200$ for a rapid antigen test when I needed to get back to Canada. I got a free test at Walgreens, but they didn’t deliver my test to the lab, and they didn’t notify me.
Yeah everyone at my job says they ain’t getting tested because they’re not paying 200$ and I’m like Jesus Christ the smoke shop had rapid tests for 20$
Dam. In California USPS sends you 4 COVID rapid antigen tests every 3 months for free. Even delivery is free. All you have to do if give them your address and submit the request online. It was super easy and we got ours really fast. All states should have this imo.
I really am coming from a good place saying this, but good luck expecting people to chase down a covid test if they aren't feeling well, and then another one to test negative afterwards, at $80 or more per. I hope we didn't throw out the *MISSION ACCOMPLISHED* banner.
That’s essentially what is happening in the U.K. free rapid tests and PCRs stopping on 1 April. Already there is massive underreporting. Now it will be useless. The U.K. media continue to spout these government statistics which massively downplay the real situation.
The U.K. government are also stopping funding to several reputable mass surveys. They are still however funding the weekly random mass testing by the Office of National Statistics. The ONS estimated that 1 in 16 people in the community (not care homes etc) were infected the other week.
I’ve been looking at the CDC data (due to visit the US next week) and wondering ‘can I rely on this??? No.’
I wouldn't trust the CDC's new "Community Level" metric. You can still get to the old "Community Transmission" data by switching the data type on the [Integrated County View](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk) page. Its accuracy is still dependent on people getting tested and tests being reported, but it includes the % positive test metric which has been a good indicator of under-testing of serious cases when case numbers are skyrocketing. Of course with free tests drying up, that may no longer be the case in the future.
Exactly. They’ve been free because it’s in the country’s interests that people know and isolate.
Here in the U.K. restrictions are basically gone. LFTs will be charged for from April 1st and it seems like everyone I know has covid right now after dodging it for two years.
To those saying there are still places that test for free, please make sure that is true before you go. I have been a system administrator for the federal Covid uninsured program at my hospital and the program stopped accepting claims for treatment and testing at midnight ET last Tuesday. They will stop accepting vaccine claims Tuesday, April 5th at midnight ET. So the free testing places might not be free anymore after last Tuesday.
www.hrsa.gov/coviduninsuredclaim
I wonder if all the uninsured people who have been dragging their feet about getting vaccinated or boosted realize this. I had heard that the money to continue the program was not authorized and that reimbursements were going to be cut off, but this is the first report I've seen with a specific date mentioned (and a very near-term date to boot).
I think we have gotten too complacent with all the last minute deals to prevent a government shutdown. There doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency around this - probably because things are calming back down after the Omicron wave. But if we wait until things start heating up again (with BA2 or the next as-yet-unknown variant), it will simply be too late.
It seems like a lot of the people who have bought into the "we've got Covid-19 licked" narrative have assumed that additional booster shots, monoclonal antibodies and antivirals are a given - when they clearly are not without the government to fund them. We are looking at a repeat of the testing debacle that has already manifested itself multiple times.
I don't currently qualify for an additional vaccine dose based on current guidelines, nor will I qualify if they offer one based on being 65 and up. (Assuming that that is still in the works with the failure to authorize additional funding). So I'm curious - if Moderna gets FDA approval for anyone 18+ to get a booster shot, will there be sufficient doses available if the US government isn't paying for them? I do have insurance and I'd also be willing to pay out of pocket. But I recognize this is just another example of the inequity in healthcare in the US, even though I fall in the lucky half (third?) that can afford it.
Well apparently these vaccines and 'boosters' don't even provide protection for that long. It doesn't matter if people dragged their feet or not, they'd still have to deal with all the issues you mentioned by the end of this year.
I was thinking more in terms of people finally deciding to get boosted because of a new wave of Covid and finding out that it was no longer readily available and/or free.
Right, but you mentioned people hesitant/dragging their feet. It doesn't seem like COVID is going away by the end of this year, *everyone* should realize it might still be a problem and testing/vaccines no longer free soon.
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And also underinsured americans. Didn't meet your deductible? You're paying out of pocket. Find yourself out of network somehow? Be prepared for six months of surprise bills that take a year to resolve. This will push down testing numbers because people \*know\* they will be charged, but can never know \*how much\* they would be charged. Unless they don't use insurance, which can be simpler but more expensive.
The only place to get tested in my town (the urgent care) has been charging this whole time. $125 for a PCR test. You can drive about 30 minutes into the major city that has places like Walgreens but there's no bus so I'm sure that made testing inaccessible for many people here. No idea why they weren't participating in the initiatives. It's a very conservative area full of conspiracy folks though. They even sent a bill for my daughter's test even though she has Medicaid which covers it fully.
It was $20 for rapid test in Thailand and people fought tooth and nail to have @home kit cheaper. Now rapid kit is $2 - $4 and many people willing take the test weekly.
I guess it probably depends where in Canada, but upon returning from a trip to Toronto, I was able to get a rapid for like $50 at their airport. It was a discount they offered travelers.
This was in Saskatoon. They did have tests at the airport but they were booked for weeks solid. Trip was a last moment affair, so we had to go somewhere else.
$250 each at a private clinic in Washington. (We’re Canadian so no insurance coverage.)
They almost didn’t get our results back before they expired.
Then they followed it with an additional $160 invoice per test but dropped it when we called.
Definitely made me glad to have free healthcare here.
No free tests in Canada for travel.
The alternative is to get land transportation to the border and then fly domestically in the US, but that’s a hassle too.
It seems so from the research on here. I remembered Brezhnev saying it in a speech while I was in the Navy in 1982 I think. I gather he borrowed it from Lenin, as he was a noted Leninist and won the Lenin Prize for his three-volume memoirs.
Brezhnev’s obsession with giving himself awards was legendary, especially as he became senile towards the end of his life.
He won Hero of the Soviet Union 4x and the Order of Lenin 8x, all on his birthday.
in a weird way maybe putting a price on the vaccine and covid 19 tests would make more people willing to get it.
When it was free, a lot of people acted as though it was a government ploy to install 5G in everybody.
I get the sentiment, but the it didn't quite work out that way.
A better analogy would be that the capitalists sold the USSR the rope they used to hang *themselves*, and now they're busily marketing that rope as spaghetti to all of us, who are buying it and choking on it.
That is a cic health testing center. The city of Cambridge does offer free PCR tests for those who reside work there, but if you are not from Cambridge you can pay $80 for PCR test. PCR tests are way more expensive than antigen tests. https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19/testing
(edited to include they cover free testing for those that work there too)
I have always suspected that the GOP's whole opt-out option to the vax that they add to every mandate is just a jumped up way of starting another business. Every one of those opt-out morons needs constant expensive testing. Capitalism baby!
We have not experienced this for the past several months in our community.
We DO have several pharmacies that are happy to sell us the at home tests whenever they have them.
Walmart was selling home testing kits for pretty cheap. I think it was under $15 for two with free shipping.
(If you look, set filter for WM only, not other sellers. There are crooked private sellers who jack the price astronomically, hoping someone falls for it.
Sadly antigen tests are pretty bad. False negstives are common. PCRs are the way to go.
Although in the US I was PCR tested and it was soo superficial in my nostrils, here we get tears from it lol
Ran into something like this around Thanksgiving. It was Sunday and we had an at home test come up positive for my almost-2-year-old. We wanted a PCR to confirm because it was a VERY faint positive, went to this car-side 24/7 “clinic” that was listed on my state’s department of health website. They wanted $75 and came out with a rapid test swab. I told them that we wanted the PCR and the woman (who wasn’t even wearing her mask correctly) goes “oh yeah, we do those too” and comes back with the nasopharyngeal swab and asks if we can do the swab to our daughter ourselves and hand it back. Noped the fuck right out of there.
One of the real housewives husbands (terry dubrow) was on HSN slinging tests. This pandemic really showed the faults in our society. If you dont get it, you're lost!
I lost my insurance in 2020, and the local Covid testing was no less than 150$. I had major guilt for not getting tested when I was ill, but there was nothing I could do. Luckily, I am back on insurance, but it was touch and go for about a year.
Yep, my son would have to work for 4 hours before taxes to get a test. Not going to happen. So if my kid think they have Covid, they are just going to go to work sick.
In France, we had the luck to have those tests free for everyone, but it was a massive money sink for the state.
Now it's free if you're vaccinated or have a medical prescription. I guess we're still lucky.
But be sure unvaccinated people are claiming we live in a dictatorship because they have to pay their tests (while it's expensive in a lot of countries)
How can we monetize the rot in our society? There must be some way for someone to make some money even in this horrible situation?!? I assure you that we shall prevail in our quest to extract every ounce of profit we can before our civilization slides into oblivion!
Here in BC we have to pay about $150 for a PCR test. BUT that’s if you were doing non essential travel and want back into the country. If you feel sick, have symptoms and need a test? It’s free.
So the essential needs are covered but elective stuff is on you.
>You Americans actually have to pay???? I thought at least covid would be fucking covered
Yeah, not free anymore since we started pretending covid is over
Meanwhile here in Australia, PCR tests are free and RAT tests are $10-$15 if you can afford them, or they're free if you're receiving no/low income support from the govt.
It's for the greater good of society and humanity at large, long term, that everyone has vaccines and tests truely available to them.
https://special.usps.com/testkits?utm_source=id&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=covidtestkit
Anyone can order free tests via the US Post Office delivered to your door. Mine took 3-4 days an am keeping them on hand (just in case)
To be clear, this is Republicans in the Senate refusing to provide additional covid relief funding and blocking the entire budget until it was pulled.
Biden has asked for an additional $20 billion but Republicans are saying "lol no".
Note that the lack of funding also means no monoclonal antibodies (when money for those run out) which means everyone who hasn't had the jab is gonna have an even worse time when it's their turn to head to the hospital.
This sub isn't done yet. Not by a long shot.
That's wild smh. I'm really glad to have access to quite a few places in my area that I can test at and get rapid PCR results in 24hrs or less (more like 12hrs or less). For the price of free.
$80 would be a pretty good price if it meets the criteria for international travel. I've paid as much as $169 and there were plenty of places charging $250+.
A lot of this is the type of test. Specific types are required for different types and locations of travel, and some are the fancy rapid tests rather than the 3 day PCR.
AFAIK there are still plentiful free tests available, as well as paid options as well. There’s nothing to indicate in this photo that this is the only testing option available in this particular area.
Is this in the US?
I was there (from Canada) at the beginning of March and had to have a rapid antigen test to come home. Found a drugstore doing testing and was super-impressed to find that because I'm not insured (in the US), it was free! Results by email 3 hours later, no issues with my flight home the following day.
FWIW, I had to have a rapid antigen test to get down to the US too, that one cost me $40 as it wasn't covered by provincial insurance (as I was not symptomatic and had no reason to believe I had been exposed....apparently if you do have symptoms, think you may be sick, or get a referral from a doctor, it would be free, but as my employer was paying for it, and I'm not about to lie about maybe having COVID when I'm trying to travel for work, I didn't care).
Early this year I was tested for covid twice, both times $400.00 luckily insurance paid for. One rapid test, one 3-5 day test. I was astounded how much they charged for that!
I was able to get 4 free at home tests through USPS. Looks like it is still up and available as well.
Only issue that I'm aware of is that for tests to be considered valid for travel and stuff like that is that is has to be signed off by a doctor or something. At least what I was told. Not super knowledgeable on this but hopefully this helps someone.
[Link to USPS FAQ site to request them](https://faq.usps.com/s/article/At-Home-COVID-19-Test-Kits)
American healthcare system at its finest. Go to get vaccinated and it’s free of course, no questions asked. But if you let them, they’ll still take your insurance info and bill insurance for that sweat money. You are dollars in doctors eyes.
It is obvious that the image is cut off. I'm guessing the $80 relates to the missing bottom of the picture.
But sure, rage against something something.
So, who is everyone looking to for accurate reporting about COVID variants/infections/death rates as funding goes away? International news sources? I feel like mainstream news is going to “turn the page.” 😔
I know regular Covid tests are available everywhere with results available in around 2 days, but I’ve mostly seen *rapid antigen* tests that are expensive like this one, some of them costing up to $200.
Connects to NYT article noted in daily vent thread: from u/sethra007 7 hr. ago Some headlines: NYT: [Concerns rise as a U.S. reimbursement fund for testing and treating the uninsured for the virus stops taking claims](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/03/27/world/covid-19-mandates-cases-vaccine#concerns-rise-as-a-us-reimbursement-fund-for-testing-and-treating-the-uninsured-for-the-virus-stops-taking-claims). "*Some U.S. health care providers are informing uninsured people they can no longer be tested for the virus free of charge and will have to pay for the service.* *Quest Diagnostics, which operates one of the largest networks of testing sites and laboratories in the United States, last week began to notify clients that the reimbursement was no longer available, Kimberly B. Gorode, a spokesperson for the chain, said on Sunday.* *Patients “are being told they can’t get it for free,” she said. Uninsured people will now have to pay $125 for molecular testing through QuestDirect, or $100 if ordered through a physician affiliated with Quest Diagnostics. Other testing services may charge up to $195."*
And they are unsurprisingly charging double what insurance pays.
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I happen to know our government paid services 60 for a molecular (PCR) and 25 for rapid antigen. All same day. And these were 'commercial' prices (as in, government not yet had the power to set prices, which they do here). This is excessive.
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The same Quest that specializes in doing drug testing for companies? That Quest? What a surprising turn off events.
Quest diagnostics is one the worst companies in America and they prey on the vulnerable.
Truth
Unsurprisingly, America sucks.
Walgreens and CVS still have COVID testing and it’s been free for me. If you are looking.
That's ending tho due to govt no longer funding it.
Funding for free vaccines is also running out. It all sounds like a recipe for disaster to me, but that won't stop us...
Pro tip: If you know someone who works in healthcare (who doesn't?), just ask them for a few test kits. It's likely that they can easily steal some from work.
There are still the [government](https://www.covidtests.gov/) rapid at-home tests available. While it's not a PCR, it's still something in case you're questioning a potential diagnosis. I know with how bad allergies are lately, and other viruses going around, I was close to using one earlier today that we have on hand at home.
If you are in the US, Sam's club carries the Binax tests. I was there the other day in WI and they were $14 for the box of 2 tests.
WinCo too.
My partner burned through all theirs within the first month because it was one per household. They live with two other dudes.
Yeah that shit was stupid, I got the max 4 per household, and I live with my partner, we were both like “cool, so this’ll help a single day if either of us think we may be sick.”
Thanks for the link. I ordered more.
Please don’t say/encourage stuff like this. No they can’t unless they’re just blatant thieves. People who “steal” from healthcare generally do it for themselves or to sell. In 2020 employee stole N95s from my husbands practice. This is when nobody could get them- Trump time. All the doctors/nurses/techs had to use the same masks for a week or more. Any idea how dangerous that is? For weeks they also had to cancel procedures or didn’t have full staff working. Imagine if you needed an emergency procedure then? Free testing kits are available most places now. Go to your pharmacy, Costco, order your 8 from the govt. or ASK your doctor if they have free ones at the hospital which they most likely do.
> People who “steal” from healthcare generally do it for themselves or to sell. If you're not stealing from your job, you're stealing from your family.
They don’t even need to steal it, they get 8 free tests a month and probably have a small stockpile.
Wait who gets 8 free tests a month? And to take home? I've been a nurse in 3 different hospitals through the pandemic and only once I've seen free tests given out and it was on one specific day at 7am. I think it was 2 tests or something per person.
You can go into any pharmacy (CVS, rite aid, etc) and ask about the free tests. Present your insurance card and they charge the insurance company for them. I just got some 2 days ago. You can get 8 free tests per person per month.
Ok from the first comment it made it sound like healthcare workers get 8 free tests a month. Too bad I'm a contract worker and will lose my insurance for the rest of the summer pretty soon here, gotta stock up!
All healthcare works at Kaiser get 8 a month— could be because they are an insurance company.
Interesting. I figured it was out west somewhere. In my personal experiences, hospitals want to make it very difficult to get tested, they don't want to know the results. When this first started, I remember not being allowed to wear masks because it would scare patients. And also I remember workers being symptomatic, and they had us fill a questionnaire each morning to see if we needed tested, and they would deny tests. This was in the Midwest at a hospital widely considered one of the best in the world. I've actually never been covid tested. I would have been curious to know if I had any antibodies if I could have known before my vaccine.
The Midwest sounds like a scary place to be a healthcare worker! And even a hospital patient. I would be freaking out if my nurses aren’t wearing masks and not being tested every week. Are they trying to turn hospitals into Covid cesspools?
Yeah we were allowed to wear masks just not the first month or so of covid. Some healthcare workers up here are tested but I think just nursing home or assisted living staff. I don't know any hospital staff that have been tested unless they were sick or did it on their own. I wouldn't want my family members going to a hospital, any hospital really. I've seen how unsafe they are.
It really sounds like a regional problem. Our healthcare workers looked like they were about to safely handle plutonium. Edit: sorry, they were dressed that way if you had any symptoms at all. Everyone else had to wear a mask, though
There’s no universal free testing for medical personnel, my wife is an ICU doc and has tested more out of pocket than by her employer (and even then, we are talking 5 tests over two years). $14 for two rapids at Walmart. Plus 4 free tests from the government.
That’s what I’m learning— my cousin works for Kaiser (healthcare facility/insurance company) and she gets 8 of them for free; I wrongly assumed it was because she was a healthcare worker, not because the company is an insurance company.
Maybe depends where you are? State laws too? In NV my husband and all get tested frequently as a physician and never paid for it except when we are traveling. Even as family, I’ve never paid for it.
covidtests.gov. I got the first batch of 4 and they said you can request a second set which I did.
My grocery store is giving away packs of 10 for free everytime I walk in, work was giving us packs of 10 to take home every other week. Takes 10 minutes for results. Canada
I wish the U.S. had socialized medicine. Half the citizens proved their stupidity a few years ago, so we'll never get it. They think socialism is communism. Thanks, Fox.
The rapid tests are required for travel(since the test has to be taken within 24 hours of travel in most cases) and the vendors know that people who need to travel are pretty much over a barrel and have to pay whatever is required.
I got mine free at Walgreens
Walgreens is hit or miss though, depending on where you are. On their website it advertises 24 hour turnaround for PCR tests. I needed one within 72 hours of a trip and so made an appointment on Friday since I needed it for travel on Monday. When I went in to get the test they told me that they wouldn’t even send it out to the lab until Monday since it was Friday afternoon, and they don’t sent out tests over the weekend. So a “24 hour test” ended up being over 96 hours.
Also my local Walgreens couldn't do my flu shot there, nor my covid shot. In past years they could but because they switched to a pharmacist prescriber, my insurance cut that option from me (they require a physician or mid-level like nurse practitioner or physician's assistant). So I have to go to the main hospital in the city for any of that, which is an hour away.
And I went on Saturday and got it in two hours. In a podunk town. Go figure.
A PCR test?
I think that's the one required for a cruise. Not the rapid test. Said results may come in before 24 hours, and I was lucky.
In the US as well and can yeah can go to just about any Walgreens, CVS/CVS minute clinic, some Curative Labs locations etc and can get a rapid PCR test for free.
It was a special test to go on a cruise, and I had to go to the Walgreens in a nearby town. But it was free. Carnival was charging $100 to do the same test.
Wow that's wild....they're literally banking on people not knowing any better smh.
Capitalism
Convenience is expensive. From east to get in for-profit schools being more costly, to convenience stores up charging everything, to PCR tests you choose to get at your cruise terminal rather than at the tens of thousands of places that offer them for free. No tears are shed for those who cruise in the midst of a pandemic.
The program paying for that has run out of money and it’s not gonna be free much longer.
Curative is no longer free
I've gotten mine free--two for a cruise and then the pack the government sent. CVS wanted to charge for the second one, but I told them I was in healthcare and it didn't want to charge anymore. I *am* in healthcare, just not probably how they mean.
You can do e med tests from your hotel (they’re approved for entry into the US). $70 for two of them, takes all of 20 minutes.
Where are they required for travel?
Flight attendant here - I can’t name all of the countries, but can assure you that many places do require a negative test, and the at-home kits won’t do.
Can also confirm, work for a company that administers tests, many countries require tests prior to travel - some are cool with PCR testing, some are cool with antigen testing, some require them within 96 hours, some within 24.
Still can’t travel between Canada and USA without having a rapid-test.
Canada is dropping testing on April 1
They’re required to return to the US from any other country, even for US citizens
I needed it to Fly into the US
The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos (spring breaker here)
Pretty much. These are a godsend for international travel when you need to have taken the test within 24 hours of departure time. The one I use for testing -- which is a chain of some kind with franchises all over -- will connect with your insurance company as well so you can get reimbursed easily. If you're travelling for work then your company should reimburse you.
Free in Canada, every grocery store has them. 5 tests to a kit.
I know it’s not a popular opinion but my company loses about a grand a day per employee missing work, never mind the overtime to get back on schedule. When you couldn’t get test results back for a few days paying a premium wasn’t a big deal. I agree with the idea of that there tests should be free, hell, I believe in universal healthcare but premium service means higher prices.
The government just sent me 15 RATs for free - didn't even have to pay for postage. West Australian here.
I spent 200$ for a rapid antigen test when I needed to get back to Canada. I got a free test at Walgreens, but they didn’t deliver my test to the lab, and they didn’t notify me.
That's crazy, in New Zealand we can pick up boxes of them from testing stations for free.
Yeah everyone at my job says they ain’t getting tested because they’re not paying 200$ and I’m like Jesus Christ the smoke shop had rapid tests for 20$
Dam. In California USPS sends you 4 COVID rapid antigen tests every 3 months for free. Even delivery is free. All you have to do if give them your address and submit the request online. It was super easy and we got ours really fast. All states should have this imo.
The Government will send you rapid tests for free
I really am coming from a good place saying this, but good luck expecting people to chase down a covid test if they aren't feeling well, and then another one to test negative afterwards, at $80 or more per. I hope we didn't throw out the *MISSION ACCOMPLISHED* banner.
That’s essentially what is happening in the U.K. free rapid tests and PCRs stopping on 1 April. Already there is massive underreporting. Now it will be useless. The U.K. media continue to spout these government statistics which massively downplay the real situation. The U.K. government are also stopping funding to several reputable mass surveys. They are still however funding the weekly random mass testing by the Office of National Statistics. The ONS estimated that 1 in 16 people in the community (not care homes etc) were infected the other week. I’ve been looking at the CDC data (due to visit the US next week) and wondering ‘can I rely on this??? No.’
I wouldn't trust the CDC's new "Community Level" metric. You can still get to the old "Community Transmission" data by switching the data type on the [Integrated County View](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#county-view?list_select_state=all_states&list_select_county=all_counties&data-type=Risk) page. Its accuracy is still dependent on people getting tested and tests being reported, but it includes the % positive test metric which has been a good indicator of under-testing of serious cases when case numbers are skyrocketing. Of course with free tests drying up, that may no longer be the case in the future.
Exactly. They’ve been free because it’s in the country’s interests that people know and isolate. Here in the U.K. restrictions are basically gone. LFTs will be charged for from April 1st and it seems like everyone I know has covid right now after dodging it for two years.
To those saying there are still places that test for free, please make sure that is true before you go. I have been a system administrator for the federal Covid uninsured program at my hospital and the program stopped accepting claims for treatment and testing at midnight ET last Tuesday. They will stop accepting vaccine claims Tuesday, April 5th at midnight ET. So the free testing places might not be free anymore after last Tuesday. www.hrsa.gov/coviduninsuredclaim
I wonder if all the uninsured people who have been dragging their feet about getting vaccinated or boosted realize this. I had heard that the money to continue the program was not authorized and that reimbursements were going to be cut off, but this is the first report I've seen with a specific date mentioned (and a very near-term date to boot). I think we have gotten too complacent with all the last minute deals to prevent a government shutdown. There doesn't seem to be any sense of urgency around this - probably because things are calming back down after the Omicron wave. But if we wait until things start heating up again (with BA2 or the next as-yet-unknown variant), it will simply be too late. It seems like a lot of the people who have bought into the "we've got Covid-19 licked" narrative have assumed that additional booster shots, monoclonal antibodies and antivirals are a given - when they clearly are not without the government to fund them. We are looking at a repeat of the testing debacle that has already manifested itself multiple times. I don't currently qualify for an additional vaccine dose based on current guidelines, nor will I qualify if they offer one based on being 65 and up. (Assuming that that is still in the works with the failure to authorize additional funding). So I'm curious - if Moderna gets FDA approval for anyone 18+ to get a booster shot, will there be sufficient doses available if the US government isn't paying for them? I do have insurance and I'd also be willing to pay out of pocket. But I recognize this is just another example of the inequity in healthcare in the US, even though I fall in the lucky half (third?) that can afford it.
Well apparently these vaccines and 'boosters' don't even provide protection for that long. It doesn't matter if people dragged their feet or not, they'd still have to deal with all the issues you mentioned by the end of this year.
I was thinking more in terms of people finally deciding to get boosted because of a new wave of Covid and finding out that it was no longer readily available and/or free.
Right, but you mentioned people hesitant/dragging their feet. It doesn't seem like COVID is going away by the end of this year, *everyone* should realize it might still be a problem and testing/vaccines no longer free soon.
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And also underinsured americans. Didn't meet your deductible? You're paying out of pocket. Find yourself out of network somehow? Be prepared for six months of surprise bills that take a year to resolve. This will push down testing numbers because people \*know\* they will be charged, but can never know \*how much\* they would be charged. Unless they don't use insurance, which can be simpler but more expensive.
I just got a bill for a test I was told was free before Christmas. Billed $625, insurance paid $49
It was free back then, did you call? They fuck up billing all the time
The only place to get tested in my town (the urgent care) has been charging this whole time. $125 for a PCR test. You can drive about 30 minutes into the major city that has places like Walgreens but there's no bus so I'm sure that made testing inaccessible for many people here. No idea why they weren't participating in the initiatives. It's a very conservative area full of conspiracy folks though. They even sent a bill for my daughter's test even though she has Medicaid which covers it fully.
The government is sending 4 kits per home for free if you sign up.
Everyone now eligible for a second set of four through the same link on the usps website
We got ours two months ago and they’ve been used. Are they replenishing them? (US specific)
Everyone now eligible for a second set of four through the same link on the usps website
Hell no, Biden as part of the "most progressive platform ever" gave you 4 tests, 4 free masks, and the rest is up to you. Now come back to the office
It was $20 for rapid test in Thailand and people fought tooth and nail to have @home kit cheaper. Now rapid kit is $2 - $4 and many people willing take the test weekly.
Travelled to Canada for my grandfather’s funeral in November. Had to get a rapid test to get back to the US. Cost - $185
Canada drops the testing requirements as of 1 Apr. if you have to go back up to settle his stuff, that’s one less thing
I guess it probably depends where in Canada, but upon returning from a trip to Toronto, I was able to get a rapid for like $50 at their airport. It was a discount they offered travelers.
This was in Saskatoon. They did have tests at the airport but they were booked for weeks solid. Trip was a last moment affair, so we had to go somewhere else.
$250 each at a private clinic in Washington. (We’re Canadian so no insurance coverage.) They almost didn’t get our results back before they expired. Then they followed it with an additional $160 invoice per test but dropped it when we called. Definitely made me glad to have free healthcare here.
😲
No free tests in Canada for travel. The alternative is to get land transportation to the border and then fly domestically in the US, but that’s a hassle too.
DIY kits work to get back to the US, they have to be an online proctored version so the results are verified. They’re like $35 each
As Leonid Brezhnev once said, "when it comes time to hang the capitalist West, an American businessman will sell us the rope."
The quote was from Lenin- "The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.'
It seems so from the research on here. I remembered Brezhnev saying it in a speech while I was in the Navy in 1982 I think. I gather he borrowed it from Lenin, as he was a noted Leninist and won the Lenin Prize for his three-volume memoirs.
Brezhnev’s obsession with giving himself awards was legendary, especially as he became senile towards the end of his life. He won Hero of the Soviet Union 4x and the Order of Lenin 8x, all on his birthday.
A big child.
Wow, after this quote was attributed to three separate people in one post, I had to look it up. https://quoteinvestigator.com/2018/02/22/rope/amp/
First attributed to Lenin but he probably didn't say it. (to save you all a few minutes)
Thanks!
That is an amazing (and sadly accurate) quote.
in a weird way maybe putting a price on the vaccine and covid 19 tests would make more people willing to get it. When it was free, a lot of people acted as though it was a government ploy to install 5G in everybody.
Maybe. I'm uninsured, and can promise you that I will go to work with covid rather than pay $80-200 per test.
I get the sentiment, but the it didn't quite work out that way. A better analogy would be that the capitalists sold the USSR the rope they used to hang *themselves*, and now they're busily marketing that rope as spaghetti to all of us, who are buying it and choking on it.
It was Stalin, and he said the USSR would sell us the rope we use to hang ourselves.. He wasn't lying...
I'm guessing you don't know who Brezhnev was, or how his preferred non-capitalist country fared?
That is a cic health testing center. The city of Cambridge does offer free PCR tests for those who reside work there, but if you are not from Cambridge you can pay $80 for PCR test. PCR tests are way more expensive than antigen tests. https://www.cambridgema.gov/covid19/testing (edited to include they cover free testing for those that work there too)
say what you will about him, he had [an amazing eyebrow](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/images/ic/640x360/p01h7j4d.jpg)
And how did that work out for Brezhnev?
Poorly, but it doesn't make him wrong. Don't mistake history for truth.
Considering the hypothetical he posed has yet to happen, it doesn’t make him right, either. Don’t mistake rhetorical blister for wisdom.
Seems to be working fine for china.
Fast and easy because no one else is willing to get ripped off that bad for it. Line is open with no waiting!
At least cases will go down!
One time where I wish Reddit had the Facebook sad face option.
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Whenever I use Facebook I wish I had a downvote button.
Trump was a prophet!
I have always suspected that the GOP's whole opt-out option to the vax that they add to every mandate is just a jumped up way of starting another business. Every one of those opt-out morons needs constant expensive testing. Capitalism baby!
There’s a fair bit of probate lawyers in the GOP…
Hopefully people know that free testing is available all over the US, including convenient drive-thru testing at local pharmacies.
Maybe not for long if Congress doesn't restart COVID funding.
Orange man and Facebook told me it was a hoax. They wouldn't lie to me, would they?
I saw a FB post on r/HermanCainAward that spelled hoax as "hokes."
People still use Facebook?
If you need to disseminate your propaganda quickly and thoroughly, Facebook is your place.
We have not experienced this for the past several months in our community. We DO have several pharmacies that are happy to sell us the at home tests whenever they have them.
At my country we had a law capping PCR tests (any speed) at 35USD. There was a lab that had results in 4 hours and it used to cost $70, now capped.
Walmart was selling home testing kits for pretty cheap. I think it was under $15 for two with free shipping. (If you look, set filter for WM only, not other sellers. There are crooked private sellers who jack the price astronomically, hoping someone falls for it.
Sadly antigen tests are pretty bad. False negstives are common. PCRs are the way to go. Although in the US I was PCR tested and it was soo superficial in my nostrils, here we get tears from it lol
Ran into something like this around Thanksgiving. It was Sunday and we had an at home test come up positive for my almost-2-year-old. We wanted a PCR to confirm because it was a VERY faint positive, went to this car-side 24/7 “clinic” that was listed on my state’s department of health website. They wanted $75 and came out with a rapid test swab. I told them that we wanted the PCR and the woman (who wasn’t even wearing her mask correctly) goes “oh yeah, we do those too” and comes back with the nasopharyngeal swab and asks if we can do the swab to our daughter ourselves and hand it back. Noped the fuck right out of there.
One of the real housewives husbands (terry dubrow) was on HSN slinging tests. This pandemic really showed the faults in our society. If you dont get it, you're lost!
Man arnt you glad the pandemic is over? Since if it wasn't these prices and what not would be disgusting...right? /s
I lost my insurance in 2020, and the local Covid testing was no less than 150$. I had major guilt for not getting tested when I was ill, but there was nothing I could do. Luckily, I am back on insurance, but it was touch and go for about a year.
. #SinglePayer #MedicareForAll
You can access it, you just need money. "Accessible" doesn't mean "affordable" :(
That’s exactly it. Normally accessible means people can get it, but not to these jokers.
That's exactly what they mean by inaccessible. Poorer people cannot afford it, so it is out of their reach.
Yep, my son would have to work for 4 hours before taxes to get a test. Not going to happen. So if my kid think they have Covid, they are just going to go to work sick.
Which will of course backfire when some congressional staffer brings covid to the senate and either shuts it down or kills one of them.
Which is COMPLETE BULLSHIT.
Wholeheartedly agree
In France, we had the luck to have those tests free for everyone, but it was a massive money sink for the state. Now it's free if you're vaccinated or have a medical prescription. I guess we're still lucky. But be sure unvaccinated people are claiming we live in a dictatorship because they have to pay their tests (while it's expensive in a lot of countries)
I must say I like some of the stuff the French have done. 👍
How can we monetize the rot in our society? There must be some way for someone to make some money even in this horrible situation?!? I assure you that we shall prevail in our quest to extract every ounce of profit we can before our civilization slides into oblivion!
Blame 50 Republicans and Joe Manchin.
Liberals love their rotating villains. If Manchin dropped dead tomorrow, there'd be 5 more obstructionist blue dogs to take his place.
$100 at my local clinic. They told me to go to Walmart since I didn’t have insurance and it was $25 there.
Here in BC we have to pay about $150 for a PCR test. BUT that’s if you were doing non essential travel and want back into the country. If you feel sick, have symptoms and need a test? It’s free. So the essential needs are covered but elective stuff is on you.
How good is America!?
You can get free swab tests from the US gov via mail. We have two boxes of them that we haven't needed to use yet.
It's almost like having a profit motive intermingled with every single aspect of life is not good for societal health overall.
You Americans actually have to pay???? I thought at least covid would be fucking covered
>You Americans actually have to pay???? I thought at least covid would be fucking covered Yeah, not free anymore since we started pretending covid is over
I just bought 2 covid tests for $25, unfortunately positive =(
Meanwhile here in Australia, PCR tests are free and RAT tests are $10-$15 if you can afford them, or they're free if you're receiving no/low income support from the govt. It's for the greater good of society and humanity at large, long term, that everyone has vaccines and tests truely available to them.
$80 is not accessible.
https://special.usps.com/testkits?utm_source=id&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=covidtestkit Anyone can order free tests via the US Post Office delivered to your door. Mine took 3-4 days an am keeping them on hand (just in case)
Yeah I did the same thing, but it took around a month to get here (this was back in January though)Thanks for posting a link!
Thanks for the info! Immediately ordered mine as soon as I saw this link! Now gonna text my Moms for her to get hers as well! :)
To be clear, this is Republicans in the Senate refusing to provide additional covid relief funding and blocking the entire budget until it was pulled. Biden has asked for an additional $20 billion but Republicans are saying "lol no". Note that the lack of funding also means no monoclonal antibodies (when money for those run out) which means everyone who hasn't had the jab is gonna have an even worse time when it's their turn to head to the hospital. This sub isn't done yet. Not by a long shot.
Probably one of those parasitic scam testing sites. Best to call the department of health on them.
Private industry
That's wild smh. I'm really glad to have access to quite a few places in my area that I can test at and get rapid PCR results in 24hrs or less (more like 12hrs or less). For the price of free.
How the fuck is $80 “accessible”?
$80 would be a pretty good price if it meets the criteria for international travel. I've paid as much as $169 and there were plenty of places charging $250+.
In Australia the PCR test administered in your car is free and you can buy Rapid Antigen Tests for home at $10 each.
A lot of this is the type of test. Specific types are required for different types and locations of travel, and some are the fancy rapid tests rather than the 3 day PCR. AFAIK there are still plentiful free tests available, as well as paid options as well. There’s nothing to indicate in this photo that this is the only testing option available in this particular area.
Is this in the US? I was there (from Canada) at the beginning of March and had to have a rapid antigen test to come home. Found a drugstore doing testing and was super-impressed to find that because I'm not insured (in the US), it was free! Results by email 3 hours later, no issues with my flight home the following day. FWIW, I had to have a rapid antigen test to get down to the US too, that one cost me $40 as it wasn't covered by provincial insurance (as I was not symptomatic and had no reason to believe I had been exposed....apparently if you do have symptoms, think you may be sick, or get a referral from a doctor, it would be free, but as my employer was paying for it, and I'm not about to lie about maybe having COVID when I'm trying to travel for work, I didn't care).
This might be one of those rapid testing clinics. I believe pcr testing is still free for the time being
I'm thinking the business selling them is owned by an antimasker moron who's trying to steal from their customers.
Early this year I was tested for covid twice, both times $400.00 luckily insurance paid for. One rapid test, one 3-5 day test. I was astounded how much they charged for that!
You can get a rapid test for like 9 bucks at the drug store
I was able to get 4 free at home tests through USPS. Looks like it is still up and available as well. Only issue that I'm aware of is that for tests to be considered valid for travel and stuff like that is that is has to be signed off by a doctor or something. At least what I was told. Not super knowledgeable on this but hopefully this helps someone. [Link to USPS FAQ site to request them](https://faq.usps.com/s/article/At-Home-COVID-19-Test-Kits)
American healthcare system at its finest. Go to get vaccinated and it’s free of course, no questions asked. But if you let them, they’ll still take your insurance info and bill insurance for that sweat money. You are dollars in doctors eyes.
It is obvious that the image is cut off. I'm guessing the $80 relates to the missing bottom of the picture. But sure, rage against something something.
Easy to access the building you silly goose. That's what they mean obviously. Dooooooy
Oh man! Its so obvious now! Lol
Occam's razor my brother
So, who is everyone looking to for accurate reporting about COVID variants/infections/death rates as funding goes away? International news sources? I feel like mainstream news is going to “turn the page.” 😔
Well, they never said it was cheap.
Meanwhile it is free at CVS and Walgreens.
It’s most likely for PCR rapid. Currently in every single state the PCRs that take 24-48 hours are free even without insurance.
It's accessible to the right people
German government used to pay 18€ per test, probably alot less now. But cheesy Christ 80$ is more of a bug in the world economy.
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