The cost of swabbing and testing all Americans for the coronavirus strain Covid-19 plus the price tag for
testing them for virus antibodies could be as much as $44 billion a year,
a new analysis funded by health insurers says.
“Diagnostic testing would cost between $6 billion and $25 billion a
year, and antibody testing would cost between $5 billion and $19 billion
a year,”
the report from the Wakely Consulting Group, funded by the health insurance lobby America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP),
says.
“These estimates include both the cost of the tests, as well as
affiliated health care services (e.g., provider visit, urgent care
visit) for administering the tests.”
The U.S. fight against Covid-19 has put diagnostic testing in the
spotlight to get patients treatment while helping society re-open to get
Americans back to work and children back to school this fall. But it’s
unclear who will pay for the tests with some members of Congress and
state lawmakers looking at the health insurance industry as a potential
target to pick up the tab.
But health insurers say it’s not that simple, indicating costs should be spread around.
“Testing strategies need to be part of a holistic public and occupational health strategy,”
said AHIP,
which includes Anthem, Cigna, Centene and CVS Health, parent of Aetna,
as members. “Federal guidance should consider funding for testing in
that context, and should clearly articulate the roles of insurance
providers, employers, and public health officials.”
The first wave of testing is already well underway with clinicians
including doctors, retail clinics and hospitals testing Americans for
the virus with molecular assays to diagnosis COVID-19 virus so they can
begin treatment. These medically necessary tests made by companies like
Abbott Laboratories, Roche and others are designed to diagnose or treat
the disease.
Lately, companies including
Abbott and Roche are
beginning to roll out antibody tests for the mass population to know who has the virus so others don’t catch it and spread it in the future. Some states,
including New York,
have already begun antibody testing with medical care providers in
their regions in an effort to know who has had the disease and whether
they have built up immunity.
Costs of testing in the report varied widely in part because it would
depend on who administered the tests and whether there was adequate
supply and materials to carry out either diagnostic testing or antibody
testing.
As one example of the wide range of test costs, the
Wakely Consulting Group report said the estimated cost of the testing would vary depending on which line of health insurance picked up the tab.
“It was assumed to be between $40 and $70 for diagnostic testing for
Medicare and Medicaid and between $30 and $50 per test for antibody
testing for Medicare and Medicaid,”
the report said. “Commercial testing was assumed to be approximately 25% higher than the average cost for Medicare and Medicaid.”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2020/06/10/price-tag-to-test-all-americans-for-coronavirus-44-billion-a-year/amp/
