Rich New Yorkers paying up for coronavirus testing at home
At least 29,000 COVID-19 cases have been report in Suffolk County, which includes the Hamptons
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Rich Hamptons residents are paying thousands of dollars for at-home novel coronavirus testing and related medical services, FOX Business has confirmed.
Page Six was first to report how residents of the ritzy Long Island, New York, region are calling on doctors, such as Bernard Kruger, to administer antibody and diagnostic testing. Demand, according to Page Six, “has been so intense that some people are happy to pay.”
The house-call fee for the test is $1,000, a spokesperson for the doctor's office said.
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Kruger’s New York City medical practice, Sollis Health, reportedly boasts big-name clients, including Tommy Hilfiger, Howard Stern and Sting.
Ebony Williams tends to a drive-in patient at a ProHEALTH Care coronavirus testing site on April 15, 2020, in the Long Island, New York, village of New Hyde Park. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
A Sollis Health spokesperson said the firm's annual membership fee for people under 45 is $3,000, or $5,000 for those who are 45 and older.
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The company's co-founder Andrew Olanow said in a statement to FOX Business the firm offers COVID-19 testing to members in New York, including the Hamptons, "as part of a broader care protocol to help them be assessed for COVID-19 and be cared for at home."
"For COVID+ patients, we remotely monitor vital signs to ensure they are stable, provide telemedicine, house calls and home imaging to assess the progression of the illness, and thus help treat the patient at home unless absolutely medically necessary to go to a hospital," he said. "This is a preferred outcome for the patient and good for hospitals which benefit from the reduced patient burden."
As of Friday morning, at least 263,460 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in New York State, with at least 29,967 of those reported in Suffolk County, which includes the Hamptons, as of Thursday night. Data shows at least 20,982 COVID-19-related deaths have been confirmed in the state so far.