美国国家公共电台 NPR--Getting insurance to reimburse you for a purchased COVID test can be a hassle

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Getting insurance to reimburse¹ you for a purchased COVID test can be a hassle

Transcript²

The White House launched two new efforts to help Americans get free access to rapid COVID tests. It's still hard to find tests, and reimbursement³ for tests bought at a store isn't necessarily easy.

DEBBIE ELLIOTT, HOST:

The federal government is trying to make at-home rapid COVID-19 tests more accessible. This week, two new initiatives launched - a government website to send free tests directly to Americans who sign up and a new requirement for people with insurance to be reimbursed⁴ for tests they buy at the pharmacy⁵.

NPR's Selena Simmons-Duffin says, for that part to work for you, it might help to have a fax machine.

SELENA SIMMONS-DUFFIN, BYLINE⁶: No, seriously, some of the major insurers' official guidance is this. Buy tests at the pharmacy. Keep the receipt. Print out a form. Fill it out. And...

(SOUNDBITE OF FAX TRANSMITTING)

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: ...Fax it to get reimbursed. Or mail it. Either way, it's a lot of hassles that a lot of Americans won't do, especially people without a printer or the time to figure out the process.

CYNTHIA COX: In fairness to insurance companies, they did not have a ton of lead time here.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: That's Cynthia Cox of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Yes, the Biden administration announced this plan in December.

COX: But they did not include all of the details in that announcement. Insurers only received guidance a few days before they were expected to have a process in place.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: Cox and her colleagues just reviewed how each of the 13 insurance companies with a million or more members were handling this process.

COX: About half have already set up a direct coverage⁷ process where you can just show up at the pharmacy and get the COVID test for free without having to pay anything up front, and the other half of the largest insurers are requiring people to go through a reimbursement process.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: UnitedHealth Group is one insurer with a direct option. You can get free tests at the pharmacy counter at Walmart, Sam's Club or Rite⁸ Aid. Other insurers, like Cigna, are requiring a printed form to be mailed or faxed. Kaiser Permanente has an online form you can fill out for reimbursement. By the way, to figure out what the process is for your insurer, you're supposed to make a call to the number on the back of your insurance card - more hassles.

Cox says, don't lose heart.

COX: Several insurers indicated that this is just their initial process but to stay tuned⁹ and that they'll try to set up something that's easier on consumers in the long run.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: She points out, regardless, none of this helps very much if there aren't any tests to buy. They are still in short supply. There are signs taped to lots of pharmacy doors saying, sorry, no home tests in stock.

Mara Aspinall, a professor at Arizona State University who closely tracks the COVID-19 test supply, says the situation has improved over the last few months.

MARA ASPINALL: While many manufacturers are expanding their capacity, the ability to get those tests in retail¹⁰ has not materially changed.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: She says that isn't likely to get better until the end of February or March.

This week, President Biden conceded that the administration should have done more on testing earlier. But he said they're doing more now. And the new website covidtests.gov seemed to roll out relatively¹¹ smoothly¹² this week. The government will begin sending out 500 million tests by the end of January and has announced plans to buy another 500 million after that.

ASPINALL: I do applaud the administration on doing that (ph) plus the insurance reimbursement. Plus, several states have their own initiatives. The reality is we need all of those.

SIMMONS-DUFFIN: She says, next, the government should be thinking about an Operation Warp¹³ Speed for testing to figure out a better strategy for ensuring tests are available and affordable¹⁴. She says it's not too late.

Selena Simmons-Duffin, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MAKAYA MCCRAVEN'S "BUTTERSCOTCH")

1 reimburse   

v.补偿，付还

参考例句：

• We'll reimburse you for your travelling expenses.我们将付还你旅费。
• The funds are supposed to reimburse policyholders in the event of insurer failure.这项基金将在保险公司不能偿付的情况下对投保人进行赔付。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 reimbursement   

n.偿还，退还

参考例句：

• He received reimbursement for his travel expenses.由于出差的花费他可以得到公司的补偿。
• Which forms do I need to complete for my travel reimbursement?我需要填什么表来报我的旅费？

4 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 pharmacy   

n.药房，药剂学，制药业，配药业，一批备用药品

参考例句：

• She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
• Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

8 rite   

n.典礼，惯例，习俗

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite.这个节日起源于宗教仪式。
• Most traditional societies have transition rites at puberty.大多数传统社会都为青春期的孩子举行成人礼。

9 tuned   

adj.调谐的，已调谐的v.调音( tune的过去式和过去分词 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• The resort is tuned in to the tastes of young and old alike. 这个度假胜地适合各种口味，老少皆宜。
• The instruments should be tuned up before each performance. 每次演出开始前都应将乐器调好音。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

11 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

12 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

13 warp   

vt.弄歪，使翘曲，使不正常，歪曲，使有偏见

参考例句：

• The damp wood began to warp.这块潮湿的木材有些翘曲了。
• A steel girder may warp in a fire.钢梁遇火会变弯。

14 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。