WASHINGTON — Tests for the coronavirus will be covered by insurance policies, as will treatments for people who are infected, said Robert Redfield, MD, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in congressional testimony on Thursday.That assertion mirrors what both President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have said about the coronavirus testing regime, which has been slow to get going. “We want the American people to know that they are covered through private insurance,” Pence said on Tuesday. “They are covered through Medicare and Medicaid. And there will be no surprise billing.”If people refrain from getting tested, public health authorities will have trouble tracking the spread of the disease, which has so far infected about 1,300 Americans, killing 38. Trump made a similar point as Pence in his Wednesday night address on the coronavirus from the Oval Office. “Earlier this week, I met with the leaders of the health insurance industry, who have agreed to waive all copayments for coronavirus treatments, extend insurance coverage to these treatments and to prevent surprise medical billing,” Trump said, apparently referencing the same meeting in which Pence made his own assurance about coverage.Despite that, reports out of Seattle indicate that people are in fact being charged for tests: as much as $500 for individuals with insurance and $1,600 for those without it, according to HuffPost. (HuffPost and Yahoo News are both part of Verizon Media.) _____Read more from Yahoo News:
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