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Getting Tested For Coronavirus When You're Not A Celebrity
By
Caroline Lewis
Published Mar 21, 2020
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By
Caroline Lewis
Published Mar 21, 2020
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When the news came out earlier this week that four members of the Brooklyn Nets tested positive for the novel coronavirus and three were asymptomatic, Mayor Bill de Blasio summed up many people’s feelings about the news.
“We wish them a speedy recovery,” the mayor tweeted. “But, with all due respect, an entire NBA team should NOT get tested for COVID-19 while there are critically ill patients waiting to be tested.”
Indeed, while some basketball players, actors and wealthy individuals with access to elite concierge medical services may be able to get tested with relative ease, many regular folks in the U.S. who have been coughing and feverish for days have gotten turned away.
As part of our project #PriceCheckNYC, done in collaboration with WNYC and ClearHealthCosts, we’re compiling people’s experiences trying to get tested for coronavirus in the New York area, along with available information about where and when to get tested. Keep in mind that the situation is changing rapidly.
The federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act now requires that all health plans—ncluding self-insured employer plans that weren’t covered by state mandates cover any costs associated with COVID-19 testing without patient cost-sharing. But figuring out where to get tested, and when testing is warranted, can still be difficult.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “If you are a close contact of someone with COVID-19 or a resident in a community where there is ongoing spread of COVID-19 and develop symptoms of COVID-19,” you should consult with a health care provider to see if they recommend getting tested. But the CDC urges people to “keep in mind there is no treatment for COVID-19 and people who are mildly ill may be able to isolate and care for themselves at home.”
Friday morning, on MSNBC, de Blasio explained that at this point, in New York City, priority for testing is for people who are at greater risk—those above 50 years of age with pre-existing conditions like lung or heart disease or diabetes or those over 70 years old.
Some people reaching out for tests in New York and New Jersey say they are being told they need to be in a position where they would be admitted to the hospital before they can get tested. Others have been able to get the test without experiencing such dire symptoms and have returned home to wait for the results (which can take days to deliver).
David Lat, a 44-year-old writer and legal recruiter, tweeted on Tuesday, March 17th, about the challenges he faced getting tested before he was ultimately admitted to NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan. Lat said he first started experiencing fever, chills, and fatigue the previous Monday and eventually contacted his doctor that Friday when he developed a cough as well.
“The physician’s assistant I spoke with said it sounded like a flu that turned into bronchitis,” Lat tweeted. “She prescribed cough syrup and a Z-Pak and said I could feel better as early as the next day.”
By Sunday, Lat was having trouble breathing and went to the emergency room at NYU Langone. He got a flu test that came up negative but was still denied a COVID-19 test. Lat was sent home only to return to the ER the following day, unable to breathe again. At that point, he got the coronavirus test, was admitted to the hospital and was hooked up to oxygen.
“It shouldn’t have taken two separate ER visits, both times with severe respiratory symptoms, to get a #COVID19 test,” Lat tweeted. “But that was my experience - and even though the situation is improving, it’s still sadly the case for so many others. #LatsCovid19Journal”
Urgent Care
With hospitals slammed taking care of the sickest patients, it’s important to note that some urgent care centers are providing COVID-19 testing as well. Some have had success getting tested at CityMD, the urgent care chain with locations throughout New York City and surrounding areas. But the company warned on March 13th, “Patients experiencing mild cold/flu symptoms who are seeking to rule out coronavirus for peace of mind cannot be tested at this time.” CityMD went on to say that clinics will examine patients experiencing fever, shortness of breath and persistent cough and body aches, and “may recommend” a COVID-19 test after ruling out the flu.
According to an email CityMD sent out on March 20th, “Even with limited testing capabilities and strict criteria, we think we’ve probably tested more people than any other healthcare provider in the country.”
The urgent care chain is temporarily closing select locations in order to boost capacity in others.
CityMD ultimately came through for Lisa Jones*, a Glen Ridge, N.J., resident who came down with a fever on Monday, March 16th, after developing a cough over the previous few days. She was given a strep and flu test in addition to being tested for COVID-19. It’s possible that she was prioritized because she is at a higher risk for contracting pneumonia and other infections after having her spleen and part of her pancreas removed a few years ago. (*Ed. note: Lisa's and her husband's names are pseudonyms for privacy purposes.)
Still, her husband, Ryan, said trying to figure out where she could go to get tested was extremely difficult. Before landing on the Clifton, N.J. CityMD, he tried other urgent care locations as well as Quest Diagnostics, a private lab that is currently processing tests but is not providing them directly to patients.
“You can’t just Google where to go to get a test,” he said. “Nothing comes up. It’s crazy.”
People are currently being encouraged to use telehealth services during the coronavirus outbreak so they don’t have to visit their doctors in person. But that also means some telehealth services may be experiencing heightened volume. Before going to CityMD, Lisa Jones tried using the Aetna Health app to connect with the insurer’s teladoc service, which is being offered without copays until June 4th. The insurer directs members to try the service on its coronavirus information page.
“She was put in an online waiting room and was in there for over an hour,” Ryan Jones said. “No one ever did get back to her.”
As of Friday, Jones was still waiting on her test results from her Monday evening visit to CityMD.
Mary Alice Carter, 47, who lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, says she was unable to find a place nearby that would give her a COVID-19 test, despite the fact that her doctor and a nurse for the township said she should get tested after reviewing her symptoms. She had a fever, sore throat, heavy chest pain, and fatigue and says she had recently been in contact with her ex-husband whose co-worker tested positive.
On Monday, March 16th, after getting the greenlight from her doctor and the township nurse, Carter called a nearby CityMD. She was told she could only get tested if she had been in direct contact with someone who tested positive. When she tried Atlantic Health System’s Nurse Screening Hotline the next day, she said she was told that only people experiencing “respiratory distress” could get tested.
As she started to feel better on Wednesday evening, Carter said she wasn’t worried so much about her own recovery but rather her inability to inform the people around her if she did have the virus. She said she had recently been in contact with a colleague who is HIV-positive. He was told by his doctor that he couldn’t get tested unless he had come into direct contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.
“My lack of ability to get a test is leaving him very uncertain,” Carter said. “He’s over 60. It’s a trickle-down situation.”
With people being told to reserve testing for the sickest of the sick, some say it’s creating a moral quandary because they want to respect that standard but also want to be accountable to the people around them.
Drive-through Testing
Drive-through testing centers are now popping up in many states, including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The first New York drive-through opened in New Rochelle on Friday, March 13th, with additional sites popping up this week on Long Island and Staten Island. New Yorkers who want to get tested at these sites have to call the state Department of Health coronavirus hotline first at 888-364-3065 to set up an appointment. NJ Governor Phil Murphy has also emphasized that drive-through testing is not for the "worried well."
The site in New Rochelle is specifically designated for residents of the town, which was an early locus of novel coronavirus infection in the state. But residents of neighboring Pelham, N.Y., have shared online that they have been able to get tested as well.
Liz M., a Pelham, N.Y., resident who didn’t want to include her last name for privacy reasons, says she called the state hotline shortly after the drive-through opened and was told she would be contacted when they had set up an appointment for her. When she hadn’t heard back by Sunday morning, she decided to just drive over to the site at Glen Island Park and see if she could get in.
After telling the guards there that she had registered with the state but didn’t have an appointment yet, Liz said, “They waved me in and it was very lowkey.” (It’s unclear whether it’s still possible to get through without an appointment.)
At the time, only two of the six drive-through lanes were open and there were only two or three cars in each one, Liz said.
But while getting tested was easy, getting her results was a bit more challenging. Liz said she called BioReference Laboratories to get her results a couple of days later and was told they could only be released to the doctor who referred her for testing. Liz said she didn’t have a doctor who referred her (nor is one required for these testing sites) and eventually convinced them to send her results via email (she tested negative).
Liz says she now feels somewhat guilty about having gotten tested. After sharing her story in a local Pelham Facebook group, she says she received some pushback because her symptoms weren’t that severe (she had experienced chest pain, a cough, and body aches, but no fever).
“A couple of people said, ‘Well, Liz, do you really think you should be getting tested?’” she recalls. “I said, ‘Well I’m not feeling well and have been around a lot of people in the last couple of days and feel it’s my obligation to know.’”
“But the fact that that even comes into the mix, that we’re deciding who is worthy, is so tricky,” she reflected.
Have you tried to get tested for novel coronavirus? Tell us about your experience at [email protected]. And please continue to share your medical bills for any health care encounter in our searchable database below.
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Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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