Rep. Katie Porter gets CDC chief to agree to pay for coronavirus testing

[riversedge]

Source: cnn





Updated 7:28 PM ET, Thu March 12, 2020
Lawmaker gets CDC chief to promise free coronavirus tests



(CNN)Democratic Rep. Katie Porter successfully pressed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention chief during a congressional hearing on Thursday to agree that the agency will pay for testing for the novel coronavirus.

The exchange came after President Donald Trump, while addressing the nation on Wednesday night, incorrectly implied that coronavirus patients could access free treatment. Many insurers have said they will pick up the cost of coronavirus testing for some policyholders, but not the treatment -- and a test or treatment that is covered is not necessarily free.

"Dr. Kadlec, for someone without insurance, do you know the out-of-pocket cost of a complete blood count test?" Porter, a California Democrat, asked Robert Kadlec, the assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Department of Health and Human Services, who said that he did not.

Porter, who is known for her incisive questioning of witnesses, then asked Kadlec whether he knew the prices of several medical services that could be associated with a coronavirus test, writing down her own figures for each service on a whiteboard she had brought to the House Oversight Committee hearing. All of his guesses were slightly to significantly above the amounts that Porter cited.
....................................

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/12/politics/katie-porter-cdc-coronavirus-testing-white-board/index.html?utm_source=twCNN&utm_content=2020-03-12T23%3A07%3A09&utm_medium=social&utm_term=link

---

she is one smart lady!

Link to tweet

?s=20

[Jarqui]

1. If you haven't seen this, you should nt

[hatrack]

2. You have GOT to watch the video - she burns him to the FUCKING GROUND

THAT is what Representatives are for. THAT.

[C Moon]

8. Thanks. I was going to pass on watching it, but I took your advice and it is brilliant!!

[EarthFirst]

3. ::mic drop::

Fuckin’ A!

[keithbvadu2]

4. Sounds good - until you get the bill.

[Celerity]

5. you seem nice

[C Moon]

7. "post removed" Hmmmm

[BigmanPigman]

6. She is on MSNBC right now...brilliant!

[pat_k]

9. Likely only applies to CDC testing -- a tiny portion.

Hats Off to Rep. Katie Porter!

Unfortunately, the effect of the commitment she forced Redfield to make is probably somewhat limited.

The CDC has been doing very little testing -- that's our national crisis.

Since the Feb 29 Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA (which should have been triggered the same time as HHS public health emergency declaration at the end of Jan), medical centers, like the University of Washington, and other labs were freed to begin testing programs while their applications and data were being reviewed by the FDA.

I assume Redfield can only speak for CDC testing, which will end up being a minuscule portion of the testing that will be done as more and more publicly-funded and private medical centers and labs commence test processing.

Trump has been taking the credit for the "millions" of tests that will ultimately be processed through these labs, but I do not think the CDC has any say over who bears the cost of tests from these other entities.

Or perhaps the CDC does. I could of course be wrong.