“The committee has been informed of troubling instances in which providers are charging up to $6,000 for one COVID-19 test,” Pallone wrote. The Energy and Commerce Committee has oversight over the law. Pallone said the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, passed in March, requires individual and group health insurance plans to provide benefits for some items and services related to COVID-19 testing without any cost-sharing requirements. Our emergency room charges are comparable or below the prevailing charges in the region.” If an insurance carrier does not cover obligated expenses for COVID testing and treatment, we will not bill these expenses to patients and will absorb these costs. “We strive to be compliant with the CARES Act, and we consistently review our billing process for compliance. “In addition, we are holding patients harmless with regard to all COVID testing and treatment,” Rice said in an email. Balance billing is where providers bill patients directly if insurers don’t cover a service. He said the hospitals don’t balance-bill patients for COVID-related services. That does not include the cost of the ER visit and physician evaluation, which varies based on the patient’s need and symptoms. Rice said the hospitals’ websites list a cash price of $200 for a COVID test. Christion Rice, managing partner for the Oklahoma hospitals, said they are investigating the allegations in the committee’s letter. Tulsa ER is one of a handful of providers in Tulsa, outside of larger hospital settings, where patients can get the treatment.Congressional Investigators Look Into COVID-19 Billing at Two Hospitals in Oklahoma - Oklahoma Watch Closeĭr. The Cherokee Nation started using the treatment at all of their clinics this week, according to a spokesperson. The Tulsa Health Department is considering opening infusion clinics so more people can get the antibody treatment, as COVID cases continue a rise that some models predict won’t peak until mid-September. The State Department of Health reported Thursday that 92% of Oklahoma patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated. However, Blubaugh said most of the patients seeking medical attention, and practically all of them needing hospitalization, are unvaccinated. The FDA has authorized the treatment under an Emergency Use Authorization, just as it has with the COVID-19 vaccines.īlubaugh said patients typically report improvement within a couple of day.
There are a couple of brands, but Tulsa ER uses Regen-Cov.
The treatment is an IV infusion that takes about an hour. “We've done hundreds and hundreds and we've had less than five patients come back and have to be hospitalized,” said Blubaugh. It’s not recommended for patients needing supplemental oxygen or already hospitalized, according to Dr. It’s only for high-risk patients, in the first 10 days of symptoms.
The treatment isn’t new, but a recent change in recommendations means more people are qualified to get it. The typically one-time, approximately one-hour, IV infusion, has been used for several months in hospital settings.Ī surge of COVID-19 cases is pushing providers to expand use of monoclonal antibody treatments that can help people recover if it’s caught early enough. More Eastern Oklahoma COVID-19 patients will have access to monoclonal antibody infusions soon, as governments on several levels open outpatient clinics to handle a growing number of cases. Tulsa ER Hospital Expanding Access To Antibody Infusions For COVID-19 Patients