Written by Vincent Cain
Despite the state and federal laws requiring COVID tests to be free or covered by health insurance, people have frequently had to pay hundreds of dollars to obtain one.
Rebecca Santucci of Lakewood discovered Stacy, her sister, had possibly been exposed to COVID-19, so she set out to find for a rapid test. She had to know if her 88-year-old father was at risk of catching the virus.
The only tests that she could find were a set of two at-home tests for $38 on Amazon, but they wouldn’t arrive until next month. Pharmacies had been out of home test kits, and testing clinics were booked for at least two weeks. Unfortunately, anything that required waiting hours in line wouldn’t work for her sister, who has Down syndrome and anxiety.
Eventually, Rebecca found a slot for a rapid antigen test at a private drive-thru clinic on the city of Lakewood’s website, but that was five days after she had Stacy learned she was exposed. The price of the test was $129.
Some clinics charge hefty upfront costs for tests, some costing more than $300 for a rapid PCR test. Anyone who can’t afford to pay often has to wait for hours in line at local free testing sites and then potentially wait days to see their lab results.
Shira Shafir, a UCLA professor of epidemiology, said, “There is a requirement that testing be free, but there is no requirement of how fast those test results need to be returned. With this omicron surge, some people are again waiting four to five days for those lab results and at that point those results are essentially useless.”
Airports are joining in to provide overpriced tests as well. At Los Angeles International Airport, a rapid PCR test with results in one hour costs $199. At San Francisco International Airport, a rapid test is $275.
Photo Cred: Beth LaBerge/KQED
