Contents tagged with COVID-19 testing
-
TAFP to HHSC: Address insufficient payment for COVID-19 testing
By Jonathan Nelson
TAFP joined five other physician associations last week in calling on the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to ensure adequate reimbursement for COVID-19 testing. The organizations sent a letter to HHSC Executive Commissioner Cecile Young on Feb. 16, bringing attention to a problem Texas physicians face: payments by some Medicaid managed care organizations for COVID-19 tests often do not even cover the cost of the tests.
A recent New York Times article quoted a Texas pediatrician who said he offered rapid coronavirus tests that cost $37 each, but the Medicaid MCOs covering his patients paid only $15 to $19. The article stated that because of the low payments, some doctors are deciding to stop testing, which hinders the nation’s effort to control the pandemic.
more