The first real-world consequences of dwindling federal COVID-19 funds have started to be felt in recent days.
Coronavirus tests for uninsured patients are no longer free in some places. That’s because the program that reimbursed clinics and hospitals for the testing, as well as for treating uninsured patients with COVID-19, stopped accepting claims last week “due to lack of sufficient funds.” Some clinics have already started to turn away people without insurance who come to get tested and can’t afford to pay for it.
Free vaccines for uninsured people are next — that funding will run out next week. After that, the vaccines themselves will still be covered by the government — for now — but the costs of administering them will no longer be billed to the federal program.
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