The conundrum: Older adults, even those who are vaccinated and boosted, are most prone to getting Covid-19. Yet, as of now, Medicare is not covering at-home rapid tests. Michelle Andrews reports for Kaiser Health News on why the Biden administration is requiring corporate insurers to cover these tests but not Medicare.
The Biden administration now requires all corporate health insurers, including those offering coverage through the state health insurance exchanges, Medicaid and CHIP, to cover eight monthly at-home rapid coronavirus tests. But, people with Medicare do not have coverage for these tests. Medicare laws prevent Medicare from covering self-administered diagnostic tests, like the rapid tests, even though they are so important for containing the pandemic.
As you likely know, the Covid-19 tests are hard to come by. They are not available at most pharmacies. And, when available, quantities tend to be limited. So, coverage of these tests might not help much for many people.
Still, everyone, including people with Medicare, are able to get four free rapid at-home tests through the Biden administration. They need only go to covidtests.gov. They also can get free tests community health centers. This web site has additional information on where to get free Covid-19 tests.
Medicare covers rapid antigen and PCR testing if performed by a lab at not charge to patients. However, be prepared: In order to get more than one free test a year, you must have a doctor’s order.
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