by Emma Davey 
Greenpointers has received several tips from readers who say that they are getting billed for a COVID test that they initially believed to be free.
Altru Chemists (987 Manhattan Ave.) partnered with MedBar, a mobile healthcare provider, to provide free testing in late 2020 and early 2021, though they were dissatisfied with the service and ended the partnership in March 2021. Over a year later, some customers noticed an extra charge on their bills. Many…
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Sad to hear this. I received all three of my covid shots there and they were very professional, quick and available and free.
Moral of story, check, re check, double check, get proof before you consent to anything if case of a problem.
The moral of the story is that there are scammers out there and sometimes there is nothing you can do to avoid being scammed. Medbar was paid by the city and insurance companies for administering the tests, they are simply going after consumers for more money by billing for a “doctor’s visit” that did not occur.
I’m glad this is being reported – I just got balance-billed by Medbar for a massive pile of money after having covid testing done at Altru. Reaching out to Medbar, I didn’t receive a response for weeks, and when one did come, it was very nasty/aggressive. I’d recommend anyone else affected by this to submit a form with the New York State Attorney General’s office – once you google “nys ag” and navigate to the consumer reporting flow, it takes about 2-3 minutes to fill out. Reporting to the NYS AG can be done not only if something is outright fraud, but also if it’s misleading – I think profiteering off standard PCR tests at a time when virtually all other providers offer them for free (through bills that were passed, insurance, etc) is about as misleading as it gets. For reference, I had my PCR test done with an eye-wateringly expensive Aetna plan that’s in-network everywhere for everything – and Medbar was like “nah we’re out of network, pound sand”