Melanie WoodrowBay Area families say they're receiving bills from PMH Laboratory for "free" school COVID tests that were administered on kids years ago., many Bay Area school children took part in what families say was advertised as free COVID-19 testing at schools covered by the CARES Act. But now three years later, some families say they're still receiving bills from the lab that conducted the tests.
The lab claims this practice violated the CARES Act which specified the insurer "shall reimburse the provider" not the patient. In its statement to 7 On Your Side, Blue Shield of California said it acted no differently with respect to PMH Laboratories, writing, "Blue Shield of California does not comment on pending litigation and cannot disclose any member information due to federal privacy law. With that said, we can state that we follow all applicable regulations and laws, including the CARES Act as it relates to COVID testing payment practices.
It's possible other families also received direct payments from an insurer but didn't understand what those checks were for or that they needed to pay PMH in return.