NATIONWIDE — Starting on Saturday, Jan. 15, those with health insurance will be able to go online or to a pharmacy to obtain an at-home COVID-19 test kit at ultimately no cost.
According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMMS), a federal agency that falls under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the tests will be available free of charge at the point of sale or through reimbursement from the person’s health insurance.
The CMMS website also states that insurance companies are required to reimburse people at a rate of up to $12 per individual test. Or the cost of the test if it is less than $12.
For those without health insurance, the CMMS says that Biden-Harris Administration is purchasing 500 million test kits and will begin delivering them to the general public this month.
The news comes in the midst of an overall shortage in tests kits throughout the country while demand skyrockets due to omicron variant of COVID-19. Last November, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) partnered with library systems throughout the Commonwealth to distribute free Abbott BinaxNow COVID-19 Antigen Card Home Test. In the Historic Triangle, Williamsburg, York County, and Poquoson’s library systems participate in the program.
For more information on this program, go to the CMMS website.
