In a hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday, a congresswoman managed to secure a verbal confirmation from the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that he would use his power under law to make coronavirus testing free for all Americans.
Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) delivered an impassioned argument for free COVID-19 testing to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, and also Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary of Health and Human Services during a House oversight committee Thursday.
Porter used a whiteboard to tally up the average out-of-pocket costs of virus testing and ER visit in the U.S., stating that some Americans wouldn’t have the money, and so might stay home rather than get tested.
She then cited a statute from the Code of Federal Regulation which allows the CDC to authorize payment for the “care and treatment of individuals subject to medical examination, quarantine, isolation, and conditional release.”
After several minutes of pressing Redfield to commit to offering free testing and treatment to all Americans, regardless of insurance, he relented. “I think you’re an excellent questioner,” he said, “so my answer is yes.”
You can learn more about laboratories currently offering COVID-19 testing on the CDC website.
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Porter, and two of her colleagues—Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.)—sent a letter to officials raising this issue of free testing last week, and have promised to hold the administration to this commitment, noting that the Director was under oath.
The congressional video of Porter’s interrogation at the hearing has already been viewed more than 50 million times since it was posted to her Twitter account on Thursday.
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