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Health-insurance firms will be required to cover eight at-home COVID-19 tests per customer a month.
People can apply for reimbursement starting Saturday or visit in-network retailers for a free test.
The Biden administration also plans to distribute 500 million free coronavirus tests this month.
People with private health insurance will be able to get at-home COVID-19 tests free of charge starting Saturday, the Biden administration announced Monday.
The new coverage requirement means that insurance companies must cover eight over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests per person per month. Any home-test kits authorized or approved by the Food and Drug Administration are eligible for reimbursement.
It’s unclear whether the policy covers only rapid antigen tests (like Abbott’s BinaxNow) or pricier mail-in PCR tests will be free of charge as well. Most insurance companies already cover the cost of a PCR test in a healthcare setting if someone has symptoms or has been exposed to COVID-19.
The Biden administration also promised 500 million free rapid coronavirus tests in January, which the White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, said at a Monday briefing would be “out the door in the coming weeks.”
Get tests for free at ‘preferred’ locations
Most people will be able to get the tests, which cost between $15 and $35 for a two-pack, covered up front at their insurer’s “preferred” pharmacies. Insurers are required to pay for $12 per individual test (or $24 per two-pack) at out-of-network locations, which leaves the remaining cost to the customer.
You can check your insurer’s website to see whether it has a network of retailers set up; otherwise, the company is responsible for the cost of all eight tests with no limit on price.
The cost of test kits is enough to keep many people from getting tested at home, and long lines and distant locations may make in-person testing inaccessible as well.
For the roughly 150 million Americans with private health insurance, at least one barrier to testing will soon be broken down — though many of the tests covered under the new policy are sold out.
Story continues
As of now, people on Medicare will not be able to get their at-home COVID-19 tests reimbursed through the program, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program plans are already required to fully cover the cost of at-home tests.
More free tests will be home-delivered this month
The Department of Defense has finalized at least two contracts related to the tests: one with a distribution company in Virginia and another with Revival Health, a California company tasked with “procuring 13.3 million over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits.” It’s not clear which tests will make up the rest of the order.
Americans will need to order a free test online to get one from the incoming batch. The administration is still working on a plan to deliver millions of tests across the country, as well as extra efforts in underserved communities.
Here are the 11 tests that may be covered, for home delivery or pharmacy reimbursement, based on FDA authorization:
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