WASHINGTON >> The Biden administration, trying to fill a frustrating gap in COVID-19 testing coverage, announced today that it will be much easier for people on Medicare to get free over-the-counter tests in the coming weeks.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Medicare will cover up to eight free tests per month starting in the spring. The tests will be distributed at participating pharmacies and other locations. They are available to people who have Medicare’s Part B outpatient benefit, for which about 9 out of 10 enrollers enroll.
Last month, the administration directed private insurers to cover up to eight at-home tests per month free of charge for people on their plans. Officials said at the time they were still trying to figure out what to do with Medicare, which covers more than 60 million people, most of whom are 65 or older and more susceptible to serious illness from coronavirus infection.
Medicare benefits are subject to a variety of arcane laws and regulations, and officials said today they were able to arrange coverage for over-the-counter COVID-19 testing by using the program’s legal authority to create demonstration programs on innovative ways to Provision of health to carry out care. This is the first time Medicare has covered an over-the-counter test at no cost to recipients.
Those with Medicare Advantage, a private insurance option that covers about 4 in 10 Medicare members, will also have access to free COVID-19 testing through their plans, officials said. Medicare Advantage plans may already cover over-the-counter COVID-19 testing as an add-on.
AARP praised Medicare’s decision and said it will be closely monitoring the rollout. “The cost of paying for testing and the time it takes to find free testing options are barriers that could discourage Medicare beneficiaries from getting tested, leading to greater social isolation and continued spread of the virus.” could lead,” Nancy LeaMond, vice president of the advocacy group for older people, said in a statement.
The new policy focuses on so-called rapid tests, which provide at-home results in about 15 minutes. Many families use the tests before meeting for special occasions or when grandparents travel from abroad to see grandchildren they haven’t been able to play with in months due to COVID-19 isolation. Some test makers target older adults directly in their marketing.
Medicare will continue to cover the more accurate lab-based PCR tests at no cost, but these must be ordered by a clinician or authorized healthcare professional.
Prior to today’s announcement, Medicare enrollments had the option to receive free at-home testing, and these will remain available while the new policy goes into effect. These options include requesting four free tests for home delivery through covidtests.gov, or picking up free tests from community locations such as libraries or senior centers that distribute them.
At-home testing was annoyingly scarce at pharmacies as the Omicron craze gained momentum in December, and some consumers find that’s still the case. However, a sweeping White House effort to provide 500 million free tests and significantly expand production capacity is showing early results, although they may vary by community and pharmacy location.
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