People with Medicare will be able to get free over-the-counter tests much more easily in the coming weeks.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said Medicare will cover up to eight free tests per month, starting in early spring. The tests will be handed out at participating pharmacies and other locations. They’ll be available to people who have Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient benefit, which about 9 in 10 enrollees sign up for.
Last month, the administration directed private insurers to cover up to eight at-home tests a month free of charge to people on their plans. Officials said at the time they were still trying to figure out what to do about Medicare, which covers more than 60 million people, most of them age 65 or older and more vulnerable to severe illness from coronavirus infection.
People with Medicare Advantage, a private insurance option that covers about 4 in 10 Medicare enrollees, will also have access to free COVID-19 tests through their plans, officials said. Medicare Advantage plans can already cover over-the-counter COVID-19 tests as a supplemental benefit. The new policy focuses on so-called rapid tests, which provide at-home results in about 15 minutes. Many families use the tests before getting together for special occasions or when grandparents travel from out of state to see grandkids they haven’t been able to play with for months due to COVID-19 isolation. Some testmakers pitch older adults directly in their marketing.
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