On Saturday, the national investigative journalism organization ProPublica published its second article in the past month highlighting how freestanding emergency rooms are price gouging Texas patients for COVID-19 tests. This time, Physicians Premier ER in Austin charged one of its own doctors nearly $11,0000 for a test.

Last month Chron.com reporter Alison Medley wrote an article about Laurie Delgatto-Whitten, a woman who received a $3,000 medical bill after visiting a drive-thru COVID-19 test site in Spring operated by United Memorial Medical Center.

touching every facet of American life. During this crisis, Managed Care Plans are connecting Texans to the personalized care and support they need to stay safe and healthy and to live their lives to the fullest.

touching every facet of American life. Texas health plans are heavily invested in the health of the Texas communities in which we live and serve, and we are doing all we can to keep Texans safe and support our provider partners. Learn more about how Texas health plans are taking action to help Texans get access to the prevention, testing, and treatment they need to stay healthy.

The COVID-19 pandemic poses unprecedented challenges to Texas and our nation, touching every facet of American life. In the face of these challenges, Texas health plans are committed to curbing the virus and helping Texans receive the testing and care they need to stay healthy—including eliminating out-of-pocket costs for Texans by covering COVID treatment and testing at no cost and expanding access to telemedicine. The health and well-being of millions of Texans is our highest priority.

AHP sent a letter to state officials opposing the Texas Association of Freestanding Emergency Centers’ (TAFEC) recent request for a waiver or rule change that would allow them to provide non-emergent care, including COVID-19 testing. Under their current licensure, freestanding emergency rooms (FSERs) may only provide medical care in emergency situations.

Over the weekend, national investigative journalism organization ProPublica published an article demonstrating how freestanding emergency rooms are price gouging Texas patients. In this case—as in hundreds of others around the state—a freestanding ER billed a Houston woman $2,500 for her son’s drive-thru COVID-19 test. The test itself was only $175, but the facility tacked on $2,300 in unnecessarily high facility and physician fees.

HOUSTON — Some consumers who thought they were getting a simple COVID-19 test instead got a surprise bill charging their insurance company thousands of dollars. The Texas Association of Health Plans called it a dangerous new trend from a small number of providers.

The COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the importance of health coverage when it comes to financially protecting Texas families from our state’s high health care costs. Texas already had the highest percent of uninsured residents  and some of the highest health care prices in the country—now, both of those problems have been exacerbated by the coronavirus.