Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston, Lowell, New Bedford: day care, how much, home)

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Yeah it would be for antibodies. Maybe I'll ask, see what they think.

Check to see if your antibody test is covered by your insurance provider. Mine was and I went to Quest. If your PCP is willing to make a referral, you can have it billed directly to your insurance. Otherwise, you can order it yourself and have your insurance provider reimburse you. You can also go to urgent care. The one closest to me charged a $50 copay (standard for everyone) and said they would bill my insurance for the cost of the test. I was able to get a referral to Quest pretty quickly by calling my PCP, so I went that route.

I tested negative, by the way. I was fairly confident that between commuting on the T, traveling quite a bit internationally and domestically in Jan/Feb/March, and going to bars/restaurants, etc. that I would have been exposed. Apparently not.

[NewfieMama]

I'm also worried about the fall and how we are going to get tested every time we have cold symptoms. Our regular doctor's office is not currently offering rapid testing, but I'm hoping they will by September. We have an urgent care clinic near us that does offer rapid testing, so I guess we'll need to utilize that when needed, but we may need to go multiple times a month. I haven't gotten the bill from my husband's rapid test, but will be interested in how much it costs.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I tested negative, by the way. I was fairly confident that between commuting on the T, traveling quite a bit internationally and domestically in Jan/Feb/March, and going to bars/restaurants, etc. that I would have been exposed. Apparently not.

The antibodies could be gone now, I think, if you had the virus in February.

[NewfieMama]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Check to see if your antibody test is covered by your insurance provider. Mine was and I went to Quest. If your PCP is willing to make a referral, you can have it billed directly to your insurance. Otherwise, you can order it yourself and have your insurance provider reimburse you. You can also go to urgent care. The one closest to me charged a $50 copay (standard for everyone) and said they would bill my insurance for the cost of the test. I was able to get a referral to Quest pretty quickly by calling my PCP, so I went that route.

I tested negative, by the way. I was fairly confident that between commuting on the T, traveling quite a bit internationally and domestically in Jan/Feb/March, and going to bars/restaurants, etc. that I would have been exposed. Apparently not.

I got my antibody test through an urgent care center who uses Quest labs. The urgent care center and quest both billed my insurance directly. Insurance covered the Quest bill completely and most of the urgent care bill, but I ended up having to pay $25 to the urgent care center out of pocket. If I were to do it again, I'd probably just schedule directly through Quest--there is a lab near me, so it would save me the bill from the urgent care center.

[charolastra00]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

I'm also worried about the fall and how we are going to get tested every time we have cold symptoms. Our regular doctor's office is not currently offering rapid testing, but I'm hoping they will by September. We have an urgent care clinic near us that does offer rapid testing, so I guess we'll need to utilize that when needed, but we may need to go multiple times a month. I haven't gotten the bill from my husband's rapid test, but will be interested in how much it costs.

I have that fear too.


My hope, though, is that with people paying much better attention to washing their hands, continuing to wear masks, and avoiding crowds that we will see lower rates of colds and flus. It will make testing messy, but maybe we can avoid flu and coronavirus rates skyrocketing at the same time.

[redplum33]

Originally Posted by charolastra00

I have that fear too.


My hope, though, is that with people paying much better attention to washing their hands, continuing to wear masks, and avoiding crowds that we will see lower rates of colds and flus. It will make testing messy, but maybe we can avoid flu and coronavirus rates skyrocketing at the same time.

Is that what you're seeing? I'm seeing a lot of people acting as if the virus is gone.

[Bridge781]

Originally Posted by redplum33

Is that what you're seeing? I'm seeing a lot of people acting as if the virus is gone.

Same. But it’s hard not to blame them seeing how the numbers have decreased so much, things are opening up again and we were on lockdown for a while. I haven’t necessarily seen less hand washing but definitely more people going out and about.

[mdovell]

Harvard wants students to test every three days. Tests are about $100. that's $9,000 for a school year. I paid $120 for quest and then had a free one months later from the state. First one was blood the second was a nasal swab. Blood took longer than nasal.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by mdovell

Harvard wants students to test every three days. Tests are about $100. that's $9,000 for a school year. I paid $120 for quest and then had a free one months later from the state. First one was blood the second was a nasal swab. Blood took longer than nasal.

Those are two different tests, no? The $120 test from Quest is an antibody test. The free swab from the state is a test for active infection.

[NewfieMama]

Is anybody else on this forum sending kids to camp or is it just me? I'm on week 2 of camp and just had to say that so far it's going really well. I have a 6 and 8 year old who are in masks for a full day of camp, and neither has had a single complaint about it. The camps are very well-organized, the campers are in small groups with a high ratio of counselors who can help keep them distant, and I'm impressed with all the thought that went into keeping staff and kids safe. My kids are excited to go every day and love spending time with other kids while doing fun activities. I was really nervous about how it was going to go, but it's been nothing but positive. It's making me feel much more optimistic about the school year.

Also, having quiet time at home so I can completely focus on work has been life-changing. I admit that this spring when work was insanely busy for myself and my husband, we were trying to layer on remote learning, zoom calls, keeping the kids entertained, etc., there were many days I ended up in tears. I missed being in my office where I could focus and easily talk with my colleagues. But now that my kids are up and out of the house early, they are somewhere they love, and I am not juggling 100 things, I am LOVING working from home.