Medicare To Extend Coverage for Free Covid Rapid Test kits

[GailL1]

I haven't yet seen the official CMS news release on this but many of the news outlets are reporting on it today.  EDITED TO ADD THE CMS NEWS RELEASE FAQ

CMS.gov - covid-19 Test and Medicare over-the-counter FAQ 

USA TODAY 02/03/2022 In a reversal, Medicare will cover 8 free COVID-19 home tests per month beginni...

from the link ~

In a reversal from its earlier position, the Biden administration has announced that people on Medicare will get up to eight free COVID-19 home tests each month, beginning in the spring.

The administration said it will be the first time Medicare covers a free, over-the-counter test for enrollees. Medicare will pay pharmacies and other entities directly to allow enrollees to pick up the free tests.

The administration said earlier that the home tests would not be covered by Medicare, the nation’s health insurance program that covers more than 61 million mostly older Americans. But on Thursday, the administration cited the "importance of expanding access to testing" and identified a way to pay for the tests for enrollees of both traditional and private Medicare plans, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 

I might add that this problem was more about government law / rules and logistics - guess they found a way to accommodate this.

There is more info at the link ~

[somarco]

@GailL1 not all tests are created equal. Some have false positives (or negatives: . . . in other words, enough inaccuracies to doubt the results. At home pregnancy tests have a much higher accuracy rate.

And many of the kits are . . . made in China

[GailL1]

@somarco 

That's why there is a process for making sure that you use as directed.

Don't test too soon if you think you have been exposed - and if negative, test again a bit later.

Don't test too far before your whatever activity.

Rapid test have improved in reliability since they were 1st introduced in 2020 but ya still got to do it right. 

They sure beat a PCR, the whole process of where and when and then waiting and waiting for results.  

Got mine free online order today.   Abbott BinaxNOW

BTW, The BinaxNOW tests are manufactured at Abbott facilities in Westbrook and Illinois.

WGAN News Abbott Labs to increase production of BinaxNOW tests

[ss11943859]

Now, this I haven't heard before. Good idea. We did apply for the free tests that were supposed to be delivered by the end of January, but haven't seen them yet. The mail in our area is really slow lately. Shortage of workers, I suppose.Although that doesn't explain checks that didn't get to the destination, etc.

[GailL1]

I believe that the delivery info for the ones you ordered online said that they would start shipping around the end of January.  News outlets said they started on 01/21 but that MILLIONS of them.  Get out of your mailbox as soon as it arrives - they aren't supposed to be left in freezing temps for long - so some of the cold weather may have also slowed delivery down.