Free COVID test available online
WASHINGTON – A White House press release issued Friday, Jan. 14 announced the Biden administration purchased one billion at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests to give to Americans for free. A half billion tests were available by Jan. 19 and can be directly mailed to homes.
Those wishing to order free tests can visit COVIDtests.gov to order. To place an order, all you need is your name and residential address. No ID, credit card, or health insurance information is required. You may also share your email address to get updates on your order.
The order form is available in English and Spanish. Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home COVID-19 tests. Orders will usually ship in 7-12 days and will be delivered by the United States Postal Service (USPS).
If you have difficulty accessing the internet or need additional support placing an order, you can call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to get help in English, Spanish, and more than 150 other languages from 8 a.m. till midnight ET, 7 days a week.
The press release stated, “Testing is an important tool to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Public health experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that Americans use at-home tests if they begin to have symptoms, at least five days after coming in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 or are gathering indoors with a group of people who are at risk of severe disease or unvaccinated.”
Tests available for order are rapid antigen at-home tests, not PCR. They can be taken anywhere, and results are available within 30 minutes without having to be dropped off at a lab.
In addition, to the four free tests available online, The Administration announced that private insurance companies are now required to cover at-home COVID-19 tests. This means consumers with private health insurance coverage will be able to get these tests for free.
Insurance companies and health plans are required to cover eight free at-home tests per covered individual per month. That means a family of four, all on the same plan, would be able to get 32 of these tests covered by their health plan per month. As part of the requirement, the Administration is strongly incentivizing plans and insurers to allow people to get these tests directly through preferred pharmacies or retailers with no out-of-pocket costs, with the plan or insurer covering the cost upfront, eliminating the need for people to submit reimbursement claims.
The administration’s free test program will “ensure equity and access” in distributing tests by “prioritizing processing orders to households experiencing the highest social vulnerability and in communities that have experienced a disproportionate share of COVID-19 cases and deaths, particularly during this Omicron surge.”