Post by icemandios on Jan 12, 2022 21:00:16 GMT
At-Home COVID Test Coverage
Jan 12, 2022
Beginning this weekend, private health insurers in the US must cover eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per person each month, Reuters reports.
Politico adds that the announcement made by the Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury departments is part of a Biden Administration push to stop the spread of COVID-19 by making it cheaper for people to test for it. But as Reuters reports, some experts see the move as "too little, too late" and note a nationwide shortage of over-the-counter tests.
"By requiring private health plans to cover people's at-home tests, we are further expanding Americans' ability to get tests for free when they need them," Xavier Becerra, the health secretary, says in a statement.
According to Politico, the new guidance also says that people who purchase testing kits from out-of-network sources must also be reimbursed up to at least $12 a test. If testing is ordered or conducted by a healthcare provider, there is no limit to the number of tests insurers must cover, Reuters adds.
[My note: As with the definition of vaccine, the definition of gain of function research, and the definition of fully vaccinated, the definition of "free" has changed.
Jan 12, 2022
Beginning this weekend, private health insurers in the US must cover eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per person each month, Reuters reports.
Politico adds that the announcement made by the Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury departments is part of a Biden Administration push to stop the spread of COVID-19 by making it cheaper for people to test for it. But as Reuters reports, some experts see the move as "too little, too late" and note a nationwide shortage of over-the-counter tests.
"By requiring private health plans to cover people's at-home tests, we are further expanding Americans' ability to get tests for free when they need them," Xavier Becerra, the health secretary, says in a statement.
According to Politico, the new guidance also says that people who purchase testing kits from out-of-network sources must also be reimbursed up to at least $12 a test. If testing is ordered or conducted by a healthcare provider, there is no limit to the number of tests insurers must cover, Reuters adds.
[My note: As with the definition of vaccine, the definition of gain of function research, and the definition of fully vaccinated, the definition of "free" has changed.
