Millions of Americans enrolled in Medicare will soon have access to free at-home COVID-19 tests this spring.
Here’s what to know about the tests, including how many beneficiaries can get.
Starting in early spring, enrollees in both Medicare and Medicare Advantage can get up to eight at-home COVID-19 tests covered at no cost each month, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said in a Feb. 3 news release. The tests must be approved or authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.
In January, President Joe Biden’s administration made it a requirement for private insurers to cover the costs of eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, McClatchy News reported. This applied to most Americans who have private health insurance but didn’t apply to Medicare at the time.
“There are a number of issues that have made it difficult to cover and pay for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests,” the news release said. “However, given the importance of expanding access to testing, CMS has identified a pathway that will expand access to free over-the-counter testing for Medicare beneficiaries.”
A Medicare spokesperson previously told McClatchy News that the company was “exploring ways” to cover the costs while trying to “overcome a number of statutory and regulatory hurdles.”
However, soon Medicare beneficiaries can get their free tests through eligible pharmacies and other entities that are participating, according to the release.
“This new initiative will enable payment from Medicare directly to participating pharmacies and other participating entities to allow Medicare beneficiaries to pick up tests at no cost.”
In the meantime, those covered under Medicare can get four free COVID-19 tests that were recently offered by the government through covidtests.gov.
Additionally, Medicare beneficiaries are already eligible to access free PCR and antigen tests conducted at a lab when it’s ordered by a health care worker, the news release notes.
“In addition to accessing a COVID-19 lab test ordered by a health care professional, people with Medicare can also already access one lab-performed test without an order, also without cost sharing, during the public health emergency,” the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said.
This initiative comes as the coronavirus omicron variant continues to dominate positive virus cases nationwide, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data estimates.
“In the weeks ahead, we’ll be working diligently on behalf of people with Medicare to set up a process for them to receive free over-the-counter tests through eligible pharmacies and other participating entities,” CMS Director Dr. Meena Seshamani told McClatchy News in a statement.
CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure told McClatchy News that “by launching this initiative, the Biden-Harris Administration is doing everything possible to make free over-the-counter COVID-19 testing more accessible for people with Medicare.”
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