Getting Tested for COVID-19 in San Angelo is not Free

SAN ANGELO, TX — There is a charge for getting screened for COVID-19 in San Angelo. Right now, health officials at Shannon Medical Center don’t have a firm answer on how to encourage those who need to get screened to do so if it might cost them a maximum of $80 per person.

If the person getting screened has health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, they are covered. Yet there are the workers who fall in the middle, those who are self-employed or work for small employers who do not offer group health insurance, who are getting squeezed by the price of the screening.

Tuesday, the City of San Angelo reported the first positive case of COVID-19 in Tom Green County. He is a man in his 70s who had traveled abroad, City officials said.

COVID-19 Tests Accomplished March 24 as of 2 p.m.:

• 184 total tests
• 69 negative results
• 114 pending
• 1 positive

Shannon Medical Center CEO Shane Plymell said that he has not received any federal guidance on funding for testing for COVID-19, therefore there is a charge for screening and a second charge for testing for coronavirus.

Getting paid for the screening, testing and treatment of COVID-19 patients is not a priority, the head of Shannon said.

“Evaluating people and testing people is my focus,” Plymell said. “I can assure you that if someone comes through our [testing] lines at Shannon, this drive-by testing, they are screened. If we feel like they need the test, they will be tested, and then of course we will wait for their results. Turnaround time have been long… To answer your question, if someone tests positive, we will take care of them whether they’re funded or not. It’s about care and not about billing or charges.”

The cost of the drive-up screening at Shannon Medical Center and at a second location set up today on the Angelo State University campus is $25 per person. If during the screening the doctor or nurse practitioner determines that a COVID-19 test should be administered, the cost of the test is $55 per person additional. That means if you are eligible for the test, it will cost you a maximum of $80.

Testing a single working mother with two children without insurance could set the mother back $240 for her entire family if the COVID-19 test is deemed necessary by the screening.

Lyndy Stone, spokeswoman for Shannon, said the hospital will not turn anyone away based on ability to pay. If the person drives through and has health insurance or Shannon is billing the health insurance directly without requiring the co-pay. If the person has no insurance, she said Shannon will invoice the patient for later payment. Payment on the spot is not required, she said. Those with Medicaid or Medicare are also covered, she said.

State Rep. Drew Darby said he is looking into the funding issues on COVID-19 screenings and tests in Texas.

“We need people who feel they need to get screened to go get screened," he said while acknowledging the price tag may be a disincentive for getting tested. “It’s a public health concern.”