The Nasal Swab PCR Test is the current industry standard for detecting current COVID infections regardless of the initial infection date. These specimens are sent to a Northwestern Medicine lab. In most cases, results are returned within 2-3 business days. These results will be posted in your Gilleon Health patient portal. 

• Thanks to the federal CARES Act which was passed in March as a response to COVID, Nasal Swab PCR tests should be covered by most insurance plans. We are not aware of any claims for a Nasal Swab PCR test that have been denied by insurance companies but it is ultimately a patient's responsibility to contact their insurer to confirm the test will meet coverage criteria. In the event an insurance company does deny a claim, the patient will be required to pay $135 for the Nasal Swab PCR test.

• The state testing sites and some of the larger healthcare systems receive funds from the federal CARES Act to provide free testing for uninsured patients but we are not set up to do that. However, we do offer a self-pay rate for $135 for those who don’t have insurance.

The Rapid Antibody is a finger prick blood test that can be helpful to quickly identify some people who may have a late stage COVID infection because the results are typically available within15 minutes from the time the test is administered.

• However, this test can not be used as the sole basis to diagnose or exclude a COVID infection because the results have proven to only accurately identify positive infections 86.7% of the time when the infection is 7 days old. It is significantly less accurate for identifying positive infections that are less than 7 days old.

• The Rapid Antibody test is best used as a screening tool to identify people who have a late stage COVID infection and/or indicate if they previously had COVID infection because it accurately identifies positive infections more than 95% of the time when the infection is at least 14 days old.

• Unless there is reason to believe someone has a late stage COVID infection and has already tested negative for the nasal swab PCR test, it is unlikely that the Rapid Antibody test would be covered by insurance. As a result, patients who want this test to see if they previously had a COVID or want preliminary results very quickly can opt to self-pay $50.00 for the Rapid Antibody test.