No Home Covid Tests – Since the start of COVID-19, the political problems in the United States have been rising at a rapid pace. First of all, the ex-president of the United States, Donald Trump, was not able to get selected for the second term. Then the result of the presidential elections was challenged by the Supreme Court. After that, we even saw riots, and people went into Congress.
The political rivalry has taken a new step in the United States as the Biden administration suspends free at-home COVID tests. In January 2022, the Biden administration was delivering rapid antigen test kits to each household in the United States with the help of the United States Postal Service.
Now, there are no home COVID tests free of cost to Americans. The Biden administration announced a few days ago that they are going to suspend all services related to free at-home COVID tests. Nobody will be able to make a new order for free rapid antigen tests from the government.
No Home COVID Tests for Free
The Biden administration launched a service to deliver free at-home COVID tests To increase the frequency of testing and contain as many outbreaks as possible. As per the policy, every household in the United States who has already ordered free at-home COVID tests from the portal has received 16 rapid antigen tests from the government.
The federal government took the help of the United States Postal Service to deliver all these tests to each household and keep track. As per the current data points released by the federal government, more than 500 million tests have been delivered to millions of households throughout the nation.
The news of a suspension of the service is surely going to show some impact on the nation’s fight against COVID-19. Even though there are some alternatives available for similar services, those alternatives are very hard for general Americans.
Not every American in the country has health insurance to get reimbursements like the federal government directed every health insurance provider in the country. At the same time, a lot of people are not able to create an appointment and visit the testing site to get themselves tested.
Future of Other Government Programs
If you take a look at the trend of free COVID testing in the United States, you will see a clear downfall. The lack of funding from Congress is just an excuse given by the Biden administration. Rapid antigen tests delivered by the federal government were helping a lot of Americans.
The current downfall in the schemes and programs related to free COVID testing in the United States can trigger some outbreaks of COVID-19 in the country. First of all, the federal government suspended free COVID testing for every international traveler.
That suspension was somewhat digestible as people who are traveling internationally Might have already saved the budget for COVID testing. But, the current suspension of free rapid antigen tests is not a normal decision. It is surely going to impact a lot of lives, especially those who don’t have any health insurance.
Health experts around the nation are expecting the federal government further going to cut the free COVID testing schemes. In the next few months, we might have to pay for every COVID test we are going to take, and it cannot be a good decision from any end of the federal government.
Not every American in the country is rich enough to get tested regularly. Rapid antigen tests are available for $10 apiece in the United States, and if you have to test all of your family members each week, then it is not going to cost less than $40. Only assuming you have four family members.
The current decision by the federal government is just going to increase the expenses of every American household in the country. Don’t worry. We have some alternatives available for some time till the federal government decides the fate of those schemes.
Free COVID Testing Schemes in the United States
Rapid antigen tests sent by the federal government to each household in the United States with the help of the United States Postal Service are not the only scheme available in the country.
The federal government of the United States has launched several schemes and programs where a person can get themselves tested without spending any money. Let’s take a look at every available service.
State Governments and NGOs
Some of you might be surprised to know that state governments in the United States, along with some non-government organizations, are also helping public health departments in the country to increase COVID testing. These non-government organizations, along with state governments, are providing free COVID tests to each citizen of the state.
Depending on your state, the number of services can be higher or lower. If you don’t know any service is running in your state, then you can visit a nearby community health care center. They will be able to help you find. You can simply click on the above-given button and reach the community-based COVID testing sites for COVID-19.
It is an official tool launched by the Department of Health and Human Services. The best part about this tool is that it is not limited to any pharmacy or state. Anyone from any county or state in the United States can use the tool and find all the nearby options.
- Simply click on the above-given button to reach the tool.
- As soon as you reach the tool, kindly select your state, and it will provide you with the links to all the places where you can get yourself tested free of cost.
- If you don’t know where to find a community health care center nearby your neighborhood, then the tool will provide you the option to reach the centralized database.
Reimbursements
The federal government of the United States also directed every health insurance provider in the country to provide reimbursements for eight COVID tests for each person included in the health insurance policy.
People who have any kind of health insurance can get their self reimbursements for eight rapid antigen COVID tests. If you have three family members added to your health insurance policy, this means you can get 24 rapid antigen tests for free, of course, from your health insurance provider each month.
In the market, these 24 rapid antigen tests are going to cost you around $240. Before you ask for reimbursement, there are some things you should keep in your mind. First of all, do not buy anything from an unauthorized person. You must make sure that you are saving all the original recipes for your purchases.
The second thing you should make sure of is you are not buying any unauthorized tests. Make sure you are buying a Food and Drug Administration of United States-approved test. Lastly, do not buy more than you are eligible for. Your health insurance provider is not liable to pay for every test you buy outside your eligibility criteria.
Pharmacies
Opposite to the above-given options, if you have been exposed to a virus or you are experiencing any symptoms related to COVID-19, then you can get yourself tested for free at any Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS pharmacy along with Quest Diagnostics laboratory.
The Centers for Disease Control partnered with all these pharmacies and laboratory giants in the United States to provide free COVID testing to every eligible American. You just have to create an online appointment before you visit the testing site. The whole process is completely free of cost, and you can opt for three different types of tests, including rapid antigen and RT PCR.
Purchase
As the Biden administration has already suspended free COVID test kits, you might have to pay for your COVID tests. If you are not able to find any rapid tests for free of cost using the above-given methods, then you can simply purchase them from any nearby pharmacy, Walmart, or target.
These tests are very common, and you can buy them for under $10. The manufacturer of that test might also provide you with a huge discount, sometimes more than 25%, if you are willing to buy them in bulk. Make sure you only purchase FDA-approved COVID tests; otherwise, the test results might be wrong.
Can I still order free COVID tests?
No, you cannot order free COVID tests even if you have never ordered them from the official portal. The federal government of the United States has already made it pretty clear that everyone who has ordered these tests before 2nd September will receive them uninterruptedly. Other people will have to look for different options even if you have never used the portal, and you are still eligible to receive 16 rapid antigen tests.
