A PSA From a Local Urgent Care

A Public Service Announcement from a local nurse:

If you’ve received a bill from Genesis labs for a COVID-19 test taken during 2020, please take the following steps before paying:

1. **Call the Lab**: Contact the lab directly using the phone number provided on the bill. Politely remind them that under the CARES Act and the FFCRA, most COVID-19 testing costs were supposed to be covered at no cost to you during that time.

– **CARES Act**: Enacted in March 2020, the CARES Act required that COVID-19 tests be covered by insurance without cost-sharing.

– **FFCRA (Families First Coronavirus Response Act)**: Effective as of March 18, 2020, the FFCRA mandated that COVID-19 testing be provided without any cost-sharing, covering a broad range of individuals, including those with private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid.

2. **Do Your Research**: Before paying, verify that the bill is accurate. The CARES Act and FFCRA were designed to protect individuals from out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 testing during 2020.

3. If it is found that the lab demands payment unfairly, report the incident to the Better Business Bureau (BBB). This helps ensure that businesses are held accountable and that others are not unfairly billed.

Remember, you have rights under federal law, and you shouldn’t be charged for something that should have been covered. Stay informed and protect yourself from unnecessary expenses.

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11 COMMENTS

  1. Thank you.
    I received one of those bills and was wondering. I also have insurance which was submitted at the time.
    The bill came from a collection agency- not even the urgent care.

  2. Yes me too I was wondering why I would be responsible for a medical bill if the lab couldn’t reach the doc office for my son insurance.

    Was trying to call the attorney listed on the letter but no response only machines and my messages never responded to.

    Thank you for the PSA.!!

  4. It has become known that many physicians/practices in our community use scare tactics to encourage those who they feel will not follow up to visit with a suggested specialist. So doing is unethical. Desired results don’t justify unethical means.

  7. Not so simple. The providers and labs both did testing thinking the govt would pay for it. There was a lot of unclear guidance at the time. Now the labs are realizing the money they got had takebacks, and others aren’t paid.. so they went to the patients.

    It’s the responsibility of the urgent cares to deal with it. The published at the time that the COVID tests were free.

    • That’s incorrect.
      As someone who’s dealt with labs…
      All Covid testing was Covid by the government whether you had insurance or didn’t, the HRSA fund depleted at the end of March 2022. Any lab, urgent care or medical practice that was behind billing missed out.
      That issue is a lab issues and no one else’s. They failed billing these tests in a timely manor.
      You snooze you lose

  8. I got this exact letter. I was afraid to contact the lawyer because I suspected it was a scam since the date of service was from 4 years ago. I contacted Friendly Urgent Care’s billing department, as that’s where the testing was done. When I gave them the account number, they said a different patient was associated with the account number I gave. They said they would look into the matter.

  9. I also got this letter and attempted to call Genesis Labs but could not get through to anybody, so I called Friendly Urgent Care’s billing department, and they couldn’t even find my account number in their system. (although I do remember taking COVID tests there and everyone knew at the time they were being covered) They said they would get back to me but I haven’t heard from them yet. This is the biggest waste of time. If someone actually got this letter resolved, please post here what you did and who you spoke with.

Comments are closed.


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