Does Medicare Cover At-Home COVID Tests?
Medicare Part B does cover at-home COVID tests, however, this benefit expires on May 11, 2023.
UPDATE: On Thursday, February 3, 2022, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that people enrolled in Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage plans will be able to get over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost starting early spring. Click here for more details, and stay tuned to our blog and Senior Healthcare Direct on Facebook for further updates.
Starting Jan. 15, private insurers began covering at-home COVID-19 tests. Unfortunately, this presents a problem if you have healthcare coverage through Original Medicare.
Medicare doesn’t cover self-administered diagnostic tests. That means only Americans with private health insurance or group health plans will have access to the eight over-the-counter at-home antigen tests available per person per month.
The Biden administration issued the ruling earlier this year, making it possible for a family of four on the same insurance plan to receive up to 32 tests per month. They’ve even required insurers to reimburse people for tests purchased outside of their network.
Of course, Medicare does cover rapid antigen testing or PCR tests done in a lab, but that’s limited to once a year without a doctor’s order.
YM032123
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The above is meant to be strictly educational and not intended to provide medical advice or solicit the sales of an insurance product or service of any kind.
