Petition: Make Coronavirus Testing Free Across the U.S.

Coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19 are bringing the world to its knees. Life as we know it, has had to slow down and things are out of our control. Citizens in Italy have been quarantined for some time now after there were hundreds of deaths, schools in many regions including New York City are closed, restaurants in many states are closed to the public, and we cannot gather in groups of 10 people or more for eight weeks. But in order to get through this, we have to contain the virus and do our best to stop the spread.

As of March 8th, the World Health Organization (WHO) still said that containment of the virus was possible. But there is one important factor that stands in the way of containment — the cost of the test.

When declaring a national emergency, Trump announced that there would be many more tests available by the end of the month. And The Center for Disease Control (CDC) changed the standards for coronavirus testing to anyone who has a doctor’s order. New York also changed the cost so that people with Medicaid would have full coverage and California has made tests available for free, but these tests should be available at no cost across the country if we really want to contain the virus and stop the spread.

The current estimated death rate of the virus is 3.4%, which would translate to millions of people in the U.S. if the virus continues to spread. A man in Miami was charged over $3000 with insurance. The intimidating cost will cause many people to not get tested and instead continue to spread the disease.

Governors can prohibit insurance companies from charging people for testing and care of coronavirus. Sign this petition demanding that the tests and treatment (note: there is no cure yet or official treatment, but symptoms such as fever can be treated) be made free across the U.S.

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