White House Directs Private Insurers To Cover Most At-Home Covid Test Costs
Under guidance issued by the Biden administration yesterday, providers must shoulder the costs for up to 8 rapid antigen tests per month starting Jan. 15. Insurers can work with preferred pharmacies or retailers to directly cover over-the-counter test kits or reimburse beneficiaries after purchase.
AP:
Home COVID Tests To Be Covered By Insurers Starting Saturday
Starting Saturday, private health insurers will be required to cover up to eight home COVID-19 tests per month for people on their plans. The Biden administration announced the change Monday as it looks to lower costs and make testing for the virus more convenient amid rising frustrations. Under the new policy, first detailed to the AP, Americans will be able to either purchase home testing kits for free under their insurance or submit receipts for the tests for reimbursement, up to the monthly per-person limit. A family of four, for instance, could be reimbursed for up to 32 tests per month. PCR tests and rapid tests ordered or administered by a health provider will continue to be fully covered by insurance with no limit. (Miller, 1/11)
The Wall Street Journal:
White House Says Private Insurers To Cover Rapid Covid-19 Tests
Consumers can find out from their plan or insurer if it provides direct coverage of over-the-counter Covid-19 tests or whether they will need to submit a claim for reimbursement, officials said. The new policy doesn’t apply to Medicare, with its more than 60 million seniors who are generally at higher risk of severe infection because of their age. Medicaid already covers at-home Covid-19 tests that have been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. Some insurer groups said Monday that the administration should have done more sooner to make testing available and affordable. (Armour and Abbott, 1/10)
Politico:
Biden Administration Lays Out Rules For Reimbursing At-Home Covid Tests
Individuals who purchase home tests outside of their insurers’ preferred network must be reimbursed up to $12 per test, but plans can "provide more generous reimbursement up to the actual price of" more pricey tests, according to the guidance. Still, that could create problems for consumers who don't live near participating pharmacies or who purchase pricier home tests like Detect’s at-home molecular test, which costs $75 for a test and the reusable hub. ... Another challenge for insurers will be tracking the number of tests individuals buy from different locations, according to Bagel. If a physician orders an at-home test for an individual, it does not count toward the eight test-a-month limit. (Lim, 1/10)
In other news about covid tests —
Modern Healthcare:
ECRI Ranks Seven At-Home COVID-19 Antigen Tests For Usability
All at-home COVID-19 tests are not equal, so says a new report out from ECRI. The patient safety and cost not-for-profit evaluated seven antigen tests available in pharmacies and online for ease of use, which can determine both how accurate results are. "If an at-home test is complicated, if it's cumbersome, it can dramatically increase the error rate, which is of course of concern," said Marcus Schabacker, president and CEO of ECRI. "If you mix up how to do the test, you might get a false positive or more importantly, a false negative test and then you have a degree of comfort that you probably shouldn't have." (Gillespie, 1/10)
The New York Times:
At-Home Coronavirus Tests Are Inaccessible To Blind People
Christy Smith has never been tested for the coronavirus. As a blind person, she can’t drive to testing sites near her home in St. Louis, and they are too far away for her to walk. Alternative options — public transportation, ride share apps or having a friend drive her to a test site — would put others at risk for exposure. The rapid tests that millions of other people are taking at home, which require precisely plunking liquid drops into tiny spaces and have no Braille guides, are also inaccessible to Ms. Smith. (Morris, 1/10)
