According to a recent report, an independent laboratory in Hawaii has increased millions of revenues by providing a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test during a COVID pandemic. study According to the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization (UHERO). In this study, the actual amount could be much higher, but the profit was estimated to be at least $ 10 per test.
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Researchers analyzed revenue reports from 21 independent laboratories that conducted PCR COVID tests in Hawaii from July 2018 to November 2021. Hawaii is in a unique position to provide this data. You will need to submit information about your monthly income to the Tax Department.
Research found that prior to the pandemic, these labs averaged $ 19- $ 22 million in monthly revenue. After the PCR COVID test became available in February 2020, revenue increased from $ 28 million to $ 36 million, the highest increase from May 2020 to December 2020.
Image: Journal of General Internal Medicine
A commercial insurance plan was needed to cover the cost of COVID testing. Family First and Coronavirus Relief Act When Coronavirus support law, But didn’t price the test.The lab is Will be refunded We use a Medicare rate of $ 51.33 per test, but this study found that the actual cost per test was “probably lower” than this rate.
“We believe that using a CMS redemption rate of $ 51.33 is a conservative estimate of profitability because we have set a rate that we feel will give the lab an incentive to improve our testing capabilities,” the study said. I am.
The study further stated that the possible consequences of plans to pay these high redemption prices are higher premiums for consumers.
Dr. Tim Halliday, a UHERO researcher and one of the authors of the study, estimates that the actual impact on insurance premiums is relatively small (about $ 10 per test, or $ 20 per person). However, he states, the study offers the opportunity to ask bigger questions about how the ambiguity of the US health care model affects individuals.
“It’s important to investigate why the US healthcare system allows for certain price claims. All in all, you’re spending one-fifth of your GDP on healthcare. [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development] The country runs away in far less.
High medical costs have a significant impact on wage stagnation. This affects uninsured and uninsured people. Everything we can do to understand why we spend so much money on health care is important. “
According to Halliday, other factors contributing to expensive medical systems include heavy reliance on service pricing models and federal laws that prevent price negotiations (such as Medicare Part D). Ban About drug price negotiations), and lack of competition. For example, one lab in this study performed 60% of the PCR tests.
This study recognizes certain biases, including data restrictions from an independent Hawaiian laboratory. However, as Family First and the Coronavirus Relief Act and the CARES Act apply to national plans, the study concludes that its comprehensive findings are “less likely to be limited to Hawaii alone.” It is attached.
