Covid “Surcharge”? Has anyone had this happen to them?

I would say you have a pretty good case not to pay it if it’s not in the contract you signed.

Keep fighting it. I’m sure it is to cover the PPE and other precautions that they have to take, but if they aren’t smart enough to put it in their contract, then that expense falls on them.

I believe this falls under the category of “price gouging”. I seems illegal to me. I should think the justice department would have a real problem with this.

Send a certified letter to the president of them company and demand immediate removal of the charges. In addition, still call the justice department and turn them in. They are not doing this only to you but everyone.

Lastly, call the local news stations. They would love this story!

I imagine this is to cover PPE and perhaps cover employees lost days due to their inability to go from a covid positive home into the home of another vulnerable client. If it were me I'd just postpone the service until he tests negative.

What justification is the company giving you for this - whopping! - surcharge?

I think CW's suggestions are probably on the right lines, except that all home care workers should be wearing full PPE and practising infection prevention and control at all calls anyway, regardless of the client's Covid status; and if the company claims that workers are not sent to Covid negative or shielding clients if they're also supporting Covid positive ones I hope they can prove it (and privately I'll eat my hat).

If you're in mischievous mood, you could also ask what the company's vaccination policy is - whether they're making it mandatory and if so are they also paying for workers' vaccinations, for example.

How long do they anticipate charging this extra fee? If he tests negative will they drop the charge? If so I am sure it is for the extra precautions that they agency takes in providing extra PPE.
If they do not drop the fee when he tests negative I would have a "discussion" with the agency. (read that as looking for another agency)
Talking about extra fees due to COVID, my daughter purchased a car recently and there was an extra fee added due to COVID, I was at a restaurant a few weeks ago and they had an added % on the bill due to COVID, it did mention in fine print that it would be removed upon request, so I would think that this is an across the board fee structure a lot of places are adding or going to add.

You could say you refuse to pay it. Your father is in the nursing home. He is not out shopping and going out to bars, restaurants and shopping. He is in 1 place.
Do they charge extra for pneumonia, gastroenteritis, clostridium difficile, influenza, skin and soft tissue conditions, mrsa? Therefore the jabbed staff gave it to him. Are they charging them $18 per pos+ person for spreading it, or docking them per hour bc they have to stay home and quarentine?
It is THEIR FAULT he came up positive. Therefore they pay.

I agree this sounds illegal to me particularly without any warning prior to him testing positive. I can appreciate the extra cost of PPE when caring for a patient who has tested positive but $18 an hour worth? That sounds closer to gouging and while personally I probably would accept $18 a visit until he either tests negative or the 10 days has past I would fight what seems like gouging at $18 per hr too. Have they given you any explanation/ validation other than simply a COVID surcharge? How do they know he didn’t get it from one of their employees? Unless there has been some legality passed in some states about this that I’m not aware of I would think that the Home Care company will back down when you challenge it knowing they are way over stepping!

Grandma54, did the auto dealer explain why it would feel a surcharge would be necessary for COVID, i.e., such as special cleaning after a car was test driven by a potential buyer?

I'm going to be buying a car in the next month or so and I'd like to be prepared with legal background if I run into this issue.

Is your father under Medicare? If so, the Home Care Company, if they accept Medicare patients, must abide by the Medicare rules and payments requirements.

This is out and out robbery! I never heard of such a thing! Did you know these tests are not even accurate. There are many false positives and the current test they are using can not even tell the difference between Covid or the flu! There is a new test that has been developed, but is not out yet. They are talking about having it available in a few months! The tests have become a JOKE! People have tested things like fruit and water and gotten a positive result!

Tell them to explain the reason for this increase? Simply stating because he has Covid is B.S. How will his care change in any way?