Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
NY AG: 300K people to see refunds, bills canceled after CityMD charged for COVID tests
By
Louis C. Hochman
Published Feb 11, 2025
Modified Feb 11, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Wirestock / Getty Images
By
Louis C. Hochman
Published Feb 11, 2025
Modified Feb 11, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
More than 300,000 people will see bills for their COVID-19 tests wiped away or refunded, Attorney General Letitia James said Tuesday after accusing CityMD of improperly charging New Yorkers about $14 million.
James said her office opened an investigation more than two years ago after receiving complaints about the bills from CityMD, an urgent care provider with more than 140 locations in New York. The office found that patients were billed despite federal and state regulations that, at the time, barred providers from charging co-pays and deductibles for medically necessary COVID-19 tests — in some cases, issuing the bills as long as two years after services.
“CityMD’s actions added unnecessary stress and financial burdens to patients seeking essential COVID-19 testing at the height of the pandemic,” James said in a statement.
Federal regulations required health plans to cover the full cost of COVID tests during the federal public health emergency, which ended in May 2023. But health plans still rejected some charges associated with the tests, and some providers passed those charges on to patients. Health plans now have more discretion over COVID testing coverage.
According to James’ office, CityMD’s website and staff assured patients during the height of the pandemic that they wouldn’t face out-of-pocket costs for testing, and patients who tried to complain had difficulty getting in touch with the company. When the patients did reach CityMD, James’ office said, the company often refused to amend bills.
CityMD has sent all affected patients letters by mail and email letting them know about the refunds and bill cancellations, James’ office said. The company is expected to erase about $7 million in outstanding bills for more than 87,000 patients. James said CityMD will also refund another $7 million to more than 215,000 people who already paid. The company will pay an additional $95,000 in penalties to New York State.
CityMD said in a statement on Tuesday that it settled the matter with James' office to avoid the cost of prolonged litigation. The company said it didn't admit any liability or wrongdoing.
In 2023, CityMD told Gothamist it would waive balances and stop sending bills for COVID-19 tests issued at the height of the pandemic — some of which came late after the urgent care company tried to work with insurers for reimbursements.
This story has been updated to include a statement from CityMD.
Tagged
new york city
Health and Science
Louis C. Hochman
After about two decades in (mostly) New Jersey-focused commercial print, digital and digital-but-radio-adjacent news, Lou stumbled into member-supported news in early 2021, as the editor and CEO of Montclair Local. There, he (hopes he) expanded enterprise, brought more sophistication to digital storytelling and moved the nonprofit newsroom closer to long-term financial sustainability. He helped lead the Local to its fourth consecutive General Excellence award from the New Jersey Press Association — the NJPA's highest honor with judges noting the paper's work to strip away layers of government opacity, to hold power to account, to make news accessible for more members of the community, to share the stories and concerns of more facets of the community and to tell compelling stories across multiple media. He's excited to continue the same ethic — news as a public service — at NYPR as the New Jersey and suburbs editor, drawing on the extraordinary talents of reporters including Karen Yi and Nancy Solomon. Lou lives in Philly (that commute!) with his partner and their two cats, about whom and about which he speaks incessantly.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Central Park birders, others remember 63-year-old woman killed in park
People who said they knew her described her as an artist and a familiar presence in the Ramble.
By
Charles Lane
Published Sep 28, 2026 at 7:04 p.m. ET
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
News
Dump truck driver hits and kills cyclist on 34th Street in Midtown, NYPD says
It's the latest in a string of hit-and-run deaths in the city in recent months.
By
Liam Quigley
New ingredient mandated for Latin American kitchen, restaurant plates in NJ
By
Arya Sundaram
A Brooklyn jail cell filled with smoke. The emergency button failed, a lawyer said.
By
Samantha Max
Crews launch tunnel machines to dig first new Hudson River rail tunnels since 1910
By
Michael Sol Warren
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .