Coronavirus tests were set at $125 in Miami Beach. They are now free for the uninsured
Coronavirus testing at Miami Beach’s only drive-thru location will open Thursday and will be free for the uninsured. The private clinic providing the tests had planned to charge people without insurance $125 for the test but relented after it was criticized publicly and the state announced a price-gouging investigation of a nearby testing site.
MedRite Urgent Care, which also operates drive-thru testing in New York state, made the decision Wednesday to make its testing free to the public after the Miami Herald reported that the clinic would charge the uninsured up to $125 to test for COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
“People were upset about the idea that a company would charge for testing during this critical time. I was upset,” said Commissioner Michael Góngora. “We pushed for them to do the right thing and they acquiesced.”
While the testing site is a private operation, MedRite needs a special events permit to use a municipal parking lot at 4621 Collins Ave. The administration used that leverage to push for free testing, Góngora said.
“We wouldn’t issue a permit to them without them removing the charge,” he said.
The drive-thru testing site will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Testing will be conducted by appointment only and will be available to the general public of any age with symptoms of COVID-19, or those who have been in recent contact with someone who tested positive for the disease or who traveled to areas where the spread is more concentrated. A doctor’s pre-approval is not necessary; screening will be conducted at the site.
Walk-up patients, or those in any vehicle other than a car, will be turned away.
“For patients without insurance, MedRite has elected to also not require payment from individuals in keeping with its commitment to the Miami Beach community,” a spokeswoman wrote to the Miami Herald in an email.
The clinic will offer 250 to 300 tests per day at multiple testing booths in the parking lot, adjacent to the Eden Roc Miami Beach on Collins Avenue. Testing will take place from Sunday to Friday and continue until April 15, the clinic said, “although MedRite may consider an extension of that time frame as circumstances require and testing supplies allow.”
Patients can call 305-735-3909 for more information about testing.
Commissioner David Richardson said he worked with the city’s legal staff rewording its permit to stipulate that MedRite must follow all laws applicable to testing, including those related to pricing. MedRite gave the city a verbal agreement it would not charge for the tests, but the legal department codified it.
“We’ve got a good agreement now and I’m comfortable with it,” Richardson said. “If they are found in violation of these laws, including pricing provisions, we can shut them down.”
For those with insurance, testing will also be provided at no cost to patients, MedRite said. A federal law passed March 18 offers reimbursement to healthcare providers that offer free testing to the uninsured. Private insurance companies have generally waived testing fees during the national emergency.
Other drive-thru testing sites in South Florida operated by the state emergency management office and regional hospitals offer COVID-19 testing for free. Medicare is paying between $36 to $51 for the test, according to The New York Times.
During a press conference Friday afternoon, DeSantis directed Attorney General Ashley Moody to investigate the $150 coronavirus tests being sold at a Hialeah testing site. While DeSantis did not name the hospital, Larkin Community Hospital opened a drive-thru testing site in Hialeah on March 20 and charges $150 per test.
“All providers who are conducting COVID-19 testing are working through evolving federal and state guidelines regarding reimbursement related to care for the uninsured,” the spokeswoman said. “As we’ve been able to understand these guidelines better, we’ve been able to make sure that the onus for payment is not on the patient. It was never the intention to charge individuals if available resources allowed MedRite to do otherwise.”
Commissioner Steven Meiner, who has pushed for the city to open a testing site for more than two weeks, said the city is discussing bringing more accessible testing to older residents.
“We’re moving in the right direction with testing,” he said.
This story was corrected to say that patients do not need pre-approval from a doctor to get tested. The clinic conducts a screening process based on federal coronavirus guidelines for relevant symptoms, travel history and exposure to a person who tested positive for COVID-19.
This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 12:31 PM.
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