Family Says Nearly $7,000 COVID-19 Test Bill Includes $480 Charge for Phone Call Telling Them Results

A New York family was shocked when the bill for their four COVID-19 tests came in, totaling nearly $7,000. The family says they were tested at a drive-thru site in Bedford in the parking lot of their local train station. 

It was one of several test sites set up by a doctor who had the full backing of town authorities.

Mom Rebecca Sussman said there was even a $480 charge for the phone call telling them the results of the tests. The doctor, Steven Murphy, apparently ordered a test for “a dozen respiratory diseases,” The New York Times reported.

“We came believing one thing would happen and we were billed for something completely different,” Sussman said.

Fortunately, the family’s insurance company paid nearly all of the bill, and the couple had no out of pocket expenses.

In a statement, Murphy said no patient has been billed for the services he and defending his billing methods.

"We are confident that the tests we run to identify the novel coronavirus are appropriate and, indeed, best meet the appropriate standard of care,"  he told Inside Edition, adding that, “Most significantly, there is no fraud or malfeasance here, and we are fully committed to being transparent with you and the tens of thousands of patients that we have tested and cared for during this pandemic."

An estimated 60,000 people had tests administered by Murphy.

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