PHOENIX — If you end up needing a test or treatment for COVID-19, how much you pay for it depends on whether or not you are insured.
Karen Pollitz with Kaiser Family Foundation says as long as you're in-network, federal and state mandates require that insurers waive cost sharing.
"So no co-pays, no deductibles. You shouldn’t have to pay out of pocket for anything for a COVID-19 test if you have health coverage," she said.
Pollitz said that is also true for the actual visit itself.
But she says treatment is treated differently.
Four major insurers have committed to temporarily waiving out of pocket costs for COVID-19 treatment on certain plans. They included Aetna, Cigna, Humana, and United.
Pollitz says that is not the case for most others.
"I think the general rule is if you have private insurance it will cover COVID-19 the way that it would cover any other serious condition."
If you don’t have coverage at all she says, the state's medicaid program, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System is the first place to look.
"It’s virtually 100 percent coverage," she said.
A single person can qualify making less than $1,400 per month.
A family of four can qualify making less than $3,000 per month.
Perhaps most important for the newly unemployed, Pollitz says the system only considers what your income is at the time that you apply. Not what it was in prior months.
"It's a safety net. It is there for situations just like what we’re facing today and that could help a lot of people," she said.
You may also qualify for a subsidized plan in the healthcare marketplace if you recently lost coverage.
"You do get a special enrollment period and that’s another 60 day opportunity just for you to enroll," she said.
