Medicare to Cover at Home Covid-19 Test
The Biden administration, announced on February 3, 2022 for Medicare beneficiaries to be able to obtain free over-the-counter test in the very near future.
According to the Center or Medicare & Medicaid Services said they believe they should be able to cover at home covid-19 test as soon as spring of 2022.
This means individuals enrolled into Part B of Medicare, can obtain up to 8 at home covid-19 test per month at no cost to them.
The Biden administration director private insurance companies to provide this exact same coverage and now they are attempting to institute this same policy within Medicare.
Medicare will continue to cover the more precise lab-based PCR tests at no cost to seniors. These test are more accurate and have been offered by local counties at no cost as well.
Are Over-the-Counter Supplies Covered by Medicare
Typically, over-the-counter items are specifically excluded from Medicare coverage. This will be a first of its kind for Medicare, which will be a great value added benefit for our seniors.
For those enrolled into Medicare Advantage plans, which is a private Medicare health plan option, will also have access to at home covid-19 test at no cost according to Medicare.
If you are enrolled into an Advantage plan, please reach out to your specific plan to verify they are covering this or not.
Some Medicare Advantage plans currently offer a monthly or quarterly over-the-counter allowance. It is unknown if they will attempt to group these test under that specific allowance.
Before this recent announcement, Medicare beneficiaries were able to obtain free at home covid-19 tests by requesting four free tests for home delivery through covidtests.gov.
In addition Medicare enrollees were able to pick up free tests from local community organization such as libraries or senior centers. However, due to supply chain issues some places had a limited supply.
Integrity Now Insurance Brokers is a full service Medicare insurance agency. We are here to help you with anything Medicare related. We service all of California, Arizona, Nevada, Orange County, Los Angeles County. Give us a call or request an online Medicare quote.
