ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A Central Florida couple said they were charged $1,200 for a COVID-19 test they did not get.
An Orange County man said he and his wife went to a local hospital for a COVID-19 test.
They didn’t get one but were charged $1,200 for the visit.
Katy Frederico thought she had been exposed to coronavirus, her boss required her to get tested before she could return to work, according to her husband Brian Stover.
On March 17, Stover said they went to his wife’s doctor at Advent Health in Winter Garden.
"And he said just come into the emergency room and you can get a test," Stover said.
“So when we went up there we got to the front desk and I said, ‘well I want to get this too,' and the lady at the front desk said ok you guys need to fill out this stuff,” Stover said.
Stover says they ended up waiting for more than an hour only to get this news.
"The doctor came in and finally said, 'per policy we are not giving out tests right now,' according to Stover.
Stover said his wife was off work for two weeks until she could get a test, but then, just days ago, they got a bill for $1200 for an ER visit.
“We went there, they put us in a room, didn’t do anything, came back in told us they couldn’t give us a test and now I’ve got a bill for $1,200,” Stover said.
Stover's portion of the bill came out to $243.
He was also concerned his insurance was being billed incorrectly for the remaining $975.
He said he called Advent Health to dispute it.
"They said we will send you another bill and we'll itemize it and you circle what you don't agree with. And I said well you don't have to send me anything because I don't agree with the bill at all," Stover said.
That's when he called News.
News 6 contacted Advent Health and a spokesperson said after it was brought to their attention they will now be removing all of the charges for Stover and his wife.
We shared that news with Stover.
"That's fantastic brother I appreciate it. Channel 6 got results for me," Stover said.
Many people went to emergency rooms looking for COVID-19 tests in March when tests were not widely available.
If you get a bill you are concerned about, contact the facility and dispute it and follow their dispute resolution process to the end.