• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
California Health Advocates

California Health Advocates

  • Contact
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Contact
    • Our Team
    • Mission
    • Education Services
    • About HICAP
    • Press
    • Testimonials
  • MEDICARE COUNSELING
  • Fact Sheets
  • Topics
    • The Basics
    • Prescription Drugs
    • Low-Income Help
    • Medigap
    • Medicare Advantage
    • Other Health Insurance
    • Appeals
    • Billing & Claims
    • Disabilities
    • Long-Term Care
    • Tribal Nations & Medicare
    • Health Care Reform
    • Advocacy & Policy
    • Glossary
  • Fraud & Abuse
  • Medicare Complaints
  • Blog
  • Donate

Beneficiaries Have a New Way to Get Medicare-Covered Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests

California Health Advocates > COVID-19 > Beneficiaries Have a New Way to Get Medicare-Covered Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests

Posted by Karen Joy Fletcher on April 4, 2022

covid-19 tests

Did you hear the good news? The Biden-Harris Administration announced today 4/4/22 that all people with Medicare Part B now have access to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at no cost. People with Medicare can get up to eight tests per calendar month from participating pharmacies and health care providers for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. This is great news!!

This is the first time that Medicare has covered an over-the-counter self-administered test at no cost to beneficiaries. The new initiative enables Medicare to directly pay participating pharmacies and other health care providers to allow Medicare beneficiaries to receive tests for free, in addition to the two sets of four free at-home COVID-19 tests Americans can continue to order from covidtests.gov. Many national pharmacy chains are participating in this initiative, including: Albertsons Companies, Inc., Costco Pharmacy, CVS, Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford Pharmacies, H-E-B Pharmacy, Hy-Vee Pharmacy, Kroger Family of Pharmacies, Rite Aid Corp., Shop & Stop, Walgreens and Walmart. You can also check with your local pharmacy and health care provider to see if they are participating.

This initiative adds to a range of existing options for Medicare beneficiaries to access free COVID-19 testing. Here’s list from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) recent press release:

  • Requesting free over-the-counter tests for home delivery at covidtests.gov. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order two sets of four at-home COVID-19 tests.
  • Access to no-cost COVID-19 tests through health care providers at over 20,000 testing sites nationwide. A list of community-based testing sites can be found here.
  • Access to lab-based PCR tests and antigen tests performed by a laboratory when the test is ordered by a physician, non-physician practitioner, pharmacist, or other authorized health care professional at no cost through Medicare.
  • In addition to accessing a COVID-19 laboratory test ordered by a health care professional, people with Medicare can also access one lab-performed test without an order and cost-sharing during the public health emergency.

For more information, see the following CMS and Medicare publications and resources:

  • Fact sheet: Medicare Covers Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests
  • Frequently Asked Questions of Medicare Coverage for Over-the-Counter COVID-19 Tests
  • Medicare.gov’s section on Medicare & Coronavirus
  • CMS press release on Medicare-covered over-the-counter COVID-19 tests

Filed Under: COVID-19, Medicare Basics, Resources

Previous Post: « Beware of Offers for “Free” Braces Covered by Medicare
Next Post: Does Your Health Insurance Invest in Fossil Fuels or Green Energy? »

About Karen Joy Fletcher

Our blogger Karen Joy Fletcher is CHA's Communications Director. With a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley, she is the online "public face" of the organization, provides technical expertise, writing and research on Medicare and other health care issues. She is responsible for digital content creation, management of CHA’s editorial calendar, and managing all aspects of CHA’s social media presence. She loves being a "communicator" and enjoys networking and collaborating with the passionate people and agencies in the health advocacy field. See her current articles.

Related Posts

  • Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests Available Again
  • Payments Increased for At-Home COVID Vaccinations for Medicare Beneficiaries
  • Your Vote Matters ~ Resources to Ensure Older Adults & People with Disabilities Can Vote
  • CMS Waives 3-Day Inpatient Requirement for Skilled Nursing Care

Primary Sidebar

Change Text Size

  • 100%  110%  120%  130%  

News & Blog Categories

  • Medicare Advantage
  • Low-Income help
  • Medicare & Disabilities
  • Medicare Basics
  • Prescription Drugs
  • Medicare & Other Health Insurance
  • Medicare Billings, Claims & Appeals
  • Health Care Disparities
  • Fraud & Abuse

—

  • COVID-19
  • Resources
  • Health Care Reform
  • Long-Term Care
  • CHA News

—

  • Advocacy & Policy
  • Letters and Comments to Policymakers
  • Legislative and Congressional Testimony
  • Policy Briefs

Send Us Comment

Do you have comments or concerns about your Medicare coverage? Issues regarding getting your needed prescriptions from your Part D plan, or a Medicare Advantage plan representative's marketing practices? Let us know at comments@cahealthadvocates.org.

We are dedicated to making Medicare's program work well for all beneficiaries. Your feedback from your own or your client's concerns and experiences with Medicare, will guide our Medicare advocacy efforts with key policy and decision-makers in both California and nationally with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and Congress.

Archives

Donate Today

Footer

Sign up for our newsletter

Choose the news you'd like to receive

Important Links

  • About Us
  • Fact Sheets
  • Blog
  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Privacy Notice
  • Cookie Policy
  • Accessibility Statement

Follow Us

Copyright © 2023 · California Health Advocates · Web Design by TWK Web and Print Design · Log in