Around 60 million Americans under Medicare will soon get free COVID-19 test kits, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced.
Under the policy, Medicare beneficiaries can pick up COVID-19 tests for free "and without needing to be reimbursed." Accroding to ABC News, it would be the first time Medicare covers the whole cost of an over-the-counter test.
The Thursday announcement came after weeks of clamor from lawmakers and healthcare advocacy groups who said that Medicare beneficiaries had been overlooked in the administration's push to compel commercial insurance to fund the testing, as per New York Times.
Medicare will pay participating pharmacies and retailers to offer the tests under the initiative, which will also apply to Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. The administration did not specify the number of pharmacies that will be involved though.
How Many Tests Are Available to Each Enrollee?
Enrollees would be permitted to take up to eight tests per month, the same amount as privately insured Americans, as part of a new set of restrictions revealed by the Biden administration last month.
The free COVID-19 tests by Medicare would be supplied to the most vulnerable people of the United States such as those 65 years old and up, and those who have disabilities.
The Biden administration has come under fire for its way of managing aspects of the epidemic, especially its response to offering free, easy-to-access COVID-19 testing to all Americans.
As a result, the federal government announced earlier this year that Americans would be allowed to request four free at-home tests, which would be delivered straight to their houses. To support this effort, the administration procured half billion test kits.
As the pandemic approaches its third spring, Biden has long acknowledged the exhaustion many COVID-weary Americans are experiencing. However, in his formal press conference this year, Biden stated that his team should have accomplished more testing earlier.
List of Approved Free COVID-19 Test Kits
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved not less than nine over-the-counter rapid antigen test kits, which include Abbott Laboratories' (ABT.N), BinaxNOW, OraSure Technologies Inc's (OSUR.O) InteliSwab, and ACON Laboratories' FlowFlex.
Among the other companies who manufacture tests are Roche Holding AG and Quidel Corp (QDEL.O)
Medicare is a federal program that covers healthcare costs for adults 65 and older, as well as those under 65 who have irreversible kidney failure.
According to another ABC News report, the U.S. is still recording an average of more than 2,300 COVID-19-related deaths each day. The number is the highest daily fatalities average in almost one year based on government data.
The country's death average increased by more than 31% in the last week.
However, the nation's overall average is still significantly lower compared to last winter when the average deaths peaked at 3,400 per day.
According to government statistics, COVID-19 cases in the United States are quickly declining. The country is now reporting an average of 415,000 new infections per day. The number is about half of what was recorded during the omicron peak in mid-January.
However, case rates remain exceedingly high, with strong transmission reported in 99 percent of US counties brought by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
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