Requirement to Publicize Cash Price for COVID-19 Testing

April 16, 2020

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act requires all providers, including hospitals and hospital physician groups, offering laboratory tests for COVID-29 to make public the cash price for diagnostic testing. The U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services may assess a penalty of up to $300 each day that the provider is out of compliance and fails to submit a corrective action plan. This provision is tied to an additional CARES Act requirement that private payers must cover diagnostic laboratory tests and related screening services for COVID-19, reimbursing providers of the diagnostic testing at the negotiated rate or, in the absence of a negotiated rate, at the posted cash price or at a rate negotiated between the plan and provider for less than the cash price. See IHA’s summary for more information.