Frequent Asked Questions

Answering all the COVID-19 Coronavirus questions you’re curious about in order to better serve you!

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Are you insured? - Your insurance will cover all evaluation & corona testing costs..  You can confirm your individual plan coverage for COVID testing here

Are you uninsured? The CARES act will cover the evaluation & covid antibody testing costs ONLY if:

• We can VERIFY you on the government website with your state ID and CORRECT SSN# (If we cannot verify you due to inaccurate information provided, then you will have to pay for testing)

• The CARES act will ONLY cover you if you DO NOT have active insurance

• The CARES act will NOT cover you/cost of testing if you have MEDICAID.

  • Do you have Medicaid? Unfortunately, we are very sorry, but we are not in network with Medicaid plans.

What is covered (either by insurance or by the CARES act [for those without insurance])

1. Televisit for for evaluation (see below why)*

2. COVID send out PCR swab

3. COVID antibody testing

Telemedicine Evaluation:  We are testing people with/without symptoms to expand testing. Prior to your testing you need a consultation with our provider who will order the appropriate test. In addition, please note COVID-19 laboratory testing requires a medical practitioner's order for insurance/CARES act coverage. Last, but not least, the provider will counsel you on limitation of the test and interpretation of results. We can schedule you for testing on the same day, if available

We are performing nasal swabs for COVID PCR test as well as antibody test in Chicago, IL. We are testing people with and without symptoms. We expect the rapid COVID test in 10 days but are not offering the rapid test at present.

We are coronavirus testing all those interested in knowing their results

• if you may have COVID-19 infection

• if you are an asymptomatic carrier

• if you would like to know whether you have antibodies to COVID-19

To get tested, please schedule a brief telemedicine visit to determine the best test for you at which time, we will schedule your testing.

Please schedule your visit and we will determine the best test for you upon arrival!

Symptoms of COVID-19 appear anywhere from 2 to 14 days after exposure.

Symptoms that may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus:

• Cough

• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Or at least two of the following:

• Fever

• Chills

• Repeated shaking with chills

• Muscle pain Headache

• Sore throat

• New loss of taste or smell

If you develop any of these emergency warning signs for COVID-19, get emergency medical attention immediately: Trouble breathing

• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest

• New confusion or inability to arouse

• Bluish lips or face

Results for the nasal swab and antibody test are usually expected back in 1-2 days. However, these are unusual times and do to the extremely high volume of testing at these outside laboratories. RAPID tests only take a couple hours and results are delivered via text message.

Average incubation 5-6 days (range 1-14)

From onset to max illness – usually about a week.

Recovery is about 2 weeks for mild to moderate disease but 3-6 weeks for severe disease.

• Active COVID-19 infection Day 1-14 after symptom onset -nasal swab RT-PCR testing – allows for early case identification and informing close contacts, reducing spread at home or work

• IgM antibody response to COVID-19 Day 7-21

• IgG antibody response to COVID-19- after day 14-  informs of the presence of an antibody response

• Importantly, individuals who had a mild flu like illness that was in fact, COVID-19 -these individuals would have antibodies.

Timing Is Critical For Correct Testing

• Day 1-14 since onset of symptoms: Nasal swabs - COVID-19 (RT-qPCR)

• Day 14-21 after symptom onset: Nasal swab + IgM antibody blood test for COVID-19

• After Day 21 after symptom onset: IgG antibody blood test for COVID-19

Antibody testing should be performed only in individuals after symptom resolution to avoid false-negative results

There are now two ways to test for Covid-19: one that measures the actual virus, and one that measures the body’s reaction to the virus.

The first is a genome test that detects the presence of viral genes in the body using a swabbed sample, usually taken from the nose and throat. The sample is then sent to a lab where it can be replicated and analyzed in a PCR machine. RT-PCR technology plays a role especially in the early stage of a viral infection, in which the virus reproduces quickly. Results take anywhere from one to three days to deliver. Point-of-care genome tests have also been developed that can potentially shorten this waiting period to mere minutes however, there accuracy at this time is questionable.

The second, which only recently has received FDA approval in the United States, is an antibody test, or serology test, that detects the presence of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in the blood. Instead of a nasopharyngeal swab, results are obtained using a finger prick blood test. Like the nasal swab test for COVID-19 viral genes, the sample is processed in an FDA approved high-throughput lab and results come back in one to three days.

If you think you might have been exposed to the COVID-19, please schedule your appointment immediately.

TESTING IS FREE IF:

A). You have health insurance: Your insurance will cover all costs of evaluation & COVID testing. We accept a wide variety of insurance plans for covid testing.

B). You do not have health insurance - The CARES act will cover the evaluation & coronavirus testing costs for anyone without insurance.

IF A OR B DO NOT APPLY TO YOU:

1. And your insurance coverage is by Medicaid, please CLICK HERE for pricing.

2. And you do not have insurance and do not have a U.S. SSN# please CLICK HERE for pricing.

One potential use of COVID antibody tests is to measure the extent of the pandemic at the population level. Our understanding of the disease and its projected impact in the US is weakened by our inability to monitor its spread among people with either mild symptoms or none at all.

Another use is to measure the progress of individual infection. Antibody tests quantify the number of immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies in the blood. The presence of more IgM antibodies, which are the first to appear and mobilize against an invading organism, indicates more recent exposure to the virus. It is through this result that an asymptomatic carrier of the virus could be identified—a feature of no small importance, since “silent carriers” have played a major role in transmission.

More IgG antibodies, which are virus specific and produced in later stages of infection, would lead a person to test positive for immunity, implying recovery. This unfortunately doesn’t guarantee full protection. The test won’t reveal how neutralizing, or how potent, these IgG antibodies are; nor can it determine how long they will last. With certain families of coronaviruses, including the beta coronavirus family that includes SARS-CoV-2, reinfection has been found to occur, and for now it remains a possibility.

Successful deployment of antibody tests depends on their “sensitivity and specificity.” Sensitivity prevents false negatives, since a more sensitive test is more likely to actually detect it. Specificity, on the other hand, prevents false positives, since a less specific test may pick up on antibodies against a virus other than SARs-CoV-2.

It would take a concerted effort, but in the United States we have the infrastructure and manpower it takes to conduct rapid antibody tests quickly, cheaply, and at a massive scale. The small European country of Andorra has plans to give antibody tests to its entire population. Compared to other resource rich nations, we’ve failed to answer the WHO director general’s call to “test, test, test.” That can change—but only if we act now, and act fast.