COVID Testing & Treatment Covered For Those Without Insurance

Buncombe County -- Buncombe County Government News : Nov 2020 Members of our community should feel confident that

they can receive coronavirus testing and treatment at no cost to them. Don’t let a lack of insurance prevent you from getting tested and potentially treated for COVID-19. The burden of a global pandemic is enough without having to also worry about additional financial obstacles related to COVID-19 testing and treatment.  

HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program  

If you do not have insurance, you are still entitled to quality COVID-19 testing and any necessary treatment at no cost. Health care providers and facilities who test and treat uninsured individuals for COVID-19 are eligible to file a claim and receive reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). That means that if you do not have any health coverage at the time of your service, instead of billing you directly, your provider can submit a claim and receive their payment promptly through the Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Uninsured Program. Once a vaccine is available, this program will also cover vaccine administration to uninsured individuals. We are grateful for the continued dedication of healthcare providers in our county and want to ensure that they are accessible to everyone in our community. 

What is Covered?  

Reimbursement is available for testing, treatment and future vaccination efforts. Specifically, they include the following:  

Specimen collection, diagnostic, & antibody testing.
Testing-related visits in the following settings: office, urgent care, emergency room, or telehealth.
Treatment, including: office visit, emergency room, inpatient, outpatient/observation, skilled nursing facility, long-term acute care (LTAC), acute inpatient rehab, home health, DME (e.g. oxygen, ventilator), emergency ambulance transportation, non-emergent patient transfers via ambulance, and FDA-approved drugs that become available for COVID-19 treatment and given during inpatient stay.
Vaccination administration fees, once an FDA-licensed vaccine becomes available.
For more information, please visit the HRSA website. 
Check out these FAQs related to the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program.  

North Carolina Medicaid Optional COVID-19 Testing Program 

Additionally, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has launched a program that reimburses primary care providers for COVID-19 testing performed for uninsured individuals. This program is only available to individuals that are residents of North Carolina, have no health care coverage, and are U.S. citizens or have eligible immigration status.  

For more information, please visit the NC DHHS website.