Social distancing and mask-wearing are crucial to controlling the coronavirus pandemic, but we shouldn't underestimate the importance of testing the population to monitor the spread of COVID-19. It is widely believed that coronavirus testing is always supposed to be free if you have health insurance, but according to a new LendingTree survey, that's simply not the case for many Americans.

LendingTree commissioned Qualtrics to field an online survey of 1,550 Americans, of which 801 said they have taken a coronavirus test. LendingTree found that over half of Americans who have been tested were charged for the COVID-19 test even though they had insurance. 

Key findings: 

• 61% of Americans who got a COVID-19 test were charged - The average cost of a coronavirus test was $77.

• 51% said they were charged even though they had health insurance

• Many patients disputed the charges, but not all succeeded. Almost 48% of Americans who negotiated the charges were successful.

• Another 23% negotiated the test charges but were unsuccessful in having the charges dropped

• 22% paid the COVID-19 test bill without disputing the charge

• About 1 in 5 paid for the COVID-19 test without negotiating. Although there are a few reasons why people didn't negotiate, 27% of Americans thought the charges were valid. 

To view full survey report: https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/coronavirus-test-cost-survey/.  
For additional information on how to negotiate COVID-19 test charges when applicable: https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/coronavirus-test-cost/.