Quest Diagnostic announced that they are conducting antibody tests, which will help identify if you were previously exposed to the virus and if your body has produced the antibodies needed to fight off the disease. The test costs $119
WellNow is also offering an antibody test for $100 and the company said they have conducted 2,300 tests thus far.
Companies like BlueCross BlueShield, Independent Health, and Univera all announced in March they will cover the cost of coronavirus testing. The announcement was beneficial financially for the thousands of local residents who contracted coronavirus over the past several weeks and to the hundreds who were hospitalized.
RELATED: Local Health Insurers to cover insurance costs
RELATED: Blue Cross Blue Shield to cover coronavirus testing costs
As part of the CARES Act that Congress passed last month, health insurance companies must provide coverage for diagnostic testing. However, there is no direct mention of antibody testing in the CARES Act. The CDC calls antibody tests a serologic test, which differentiates from a diagnostic test, even though they are both considered tests for COVID-19.
Despite that debate, BlueCross BlueShield is still covering the costs for the antibody test. Schenk said that because they believe the antibody test is related to the coronavirus pandemic, they are going to cover the test for all their insured members during the state of emergency.
“In normal circumstance, it’s not an FDA approved test,” Schenk said. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on how to interpret results. But I think that for people who had an illness, to get this test and understand that yes it was coronavirus or no it was not is going to be important for them as they think about how they will keep their families safe or return to work.”
Schenk said future decisions will be made based on the new science that comes out over time.
“Right now…It would be good for them to know if they had coronavirus or some other kind of illness,” he said.
Univera Healthcare is covering the medically necessary antibody test when ordered by a physician in an FDA-approved lab, the company said.
Independent Health will also pay for the antibody tests only if ordered by a physician or other health professional.
“Those interested are strongly encouraged to contact their primary care providers regarding the need to be tested, as well as the accuracy of the test results,” an Independent Health spokesperson said. “For example, some health care professionals believe that up to 25 to 30 out of 100 actually infected people will have a falsely negative testing results for the virus. In addition, the presence of the antibodies are not yet known to be proven to be protective of reinfection.”