According to the state’s insurance department, most Mississippians won’t be charged for coronavirus testing because their insurers don’t charge fees. “The MID has spoken with all Mississippi health insurance carriers and each carrier has a contingency program in place to deal increased claims, member queries, and other communications,” Mike Chaney, Insurance Commissioner, said Monday. According to the Mississippi Insurance Department, major carriers will pay no cost for medically necessary coronavirus tests if ordered by a doctor. The major carriers confirmed to MID are: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi, Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Shield of Mississippi; Ambetter and Molina who offer plans through Affordable Care Act federal insurance market; and United Healthcare managed care organization Medicaid. Customers should ensure that their plans are properly reviewed to make sure they are covered. A spokesperson for Medicaid confirmed that the test would be covered for beneficiaries. Vice President Mike Pence declared last week that diagnostic testing will be considered an “essential benefit” and should therefore be covered by private, ACA and Medicaid plans. However, not all private plans can be ACA-complaint. Only plans sold through the federal marketplace must provide coverage for essential health benefits like prescription drugs and maternity and childbirth care. The Trump administration recently approved diagnostic testing as an option to comprehensive coverage. Since 2018, around 1,500 Mississippians have signed up to a single short-term carrier called Golden Rule, which is managed by United. Mississippi Today was informed by United that its customers are covered for coronavirus testing. It’s not clear how Mississippians without insurance will be able to access testing if they need it. Half of Mississippians without insurance are in the “coverage gaps”, meaning they earn less than 138 per cent of the federal poverty line. They would be eligible for Medicaid under federal expansion. The public cannot access tests at the moment because they must be approved by health care professionals. The state’s hospitals and community health centers associations didn’t respond to calls for comment. Both clinics and hospitals are the first line of testing. The new coronavirus diagnostic testing confirms that a person has COVID-19, a respiratory disease spread from person to person by close contact. It also detects cough drops and sneeze droplets. Out of 20 samples tested, Mississippi has not yet had any cases. Since the disease was first discovered in Washington, 647 confirmed cases have been reported across the country. 25 people have also died. The majority of cases are found in Washington, California, and New York. Most deaths occur among the elderly and sick. Since late 2019, more than 109,000 cases were reported in 105 countries. The virus has claimed 3,809 lives. The virus is a public health emergency according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the World Health Organization. As of this week, testing is intensifying across the U.S., but there are still questions about the protocol, testing, and disease. Testing was slow due to issues with the initial kits that were distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Federal Drug Administration lifted all restrictions on testing, allowing both state and private laboratories to perform in-house tests. This eliminates the need for CDC to oversee all tests. Quest Diagnostics, LabCorp and LabCorp recently began offering testing to providers. However, neither Quest Diagnostics nor LabCorp returned calls asking for comments about the sliding scale or waiver of test fees for those without insurance. Although the state health department can now test in-house it is still using its original CDC kit which provided 225 tests. According to the health department, these tests can be analyzed free of charge. The CDC warns that people over 60 and those with compromised immune systems are most at risk for COVID-19. They recommend avoiding crowds and stocking up on supplies, as well as limiting travel. Although there is no vaccine currently available to prevent the disease from spreading, the CDC recommends that you avoid contact with people and wash your hands frequently. For live updates from the CDC, click here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-in-us.html