How to Get Reimbursed for COVID Tests Before Insurance Stops Paying
Remember 2021 when people were willing to do anything to find a test for COVID? In response, the government began sending out free tests and then ordered that insurance reimburse you for eight tests a month . If you had private insurance, you could walk into Walgreens, ask the pharmacist for a script for COVID tests, and walk away with a stack of tests without spending a dime, regardless of your insurance coverage.
But it’s spring 2023, and May 11 is the end of the public health emergency declaration, and with it the possibility of reimbursement. To be clear, private insurance can still cover COVID testing, but haha. So here’s why you should still get tested, where to find tests, and how to get your insurance company to fork out so you’ll have supplies before time runs out. There is still enough time to complete 16 more tests before the compensation ends.
Yes you still need to check
Yes, you are likely to get COVID. (Again?) And then get it again. And again. You will likely encounter this at least a few times during your life. Science says that each of these infections, no matter how you feel during the infection, increases the risk of long-term COVID , and that many more people are experiencing long-term COVID than we think. COVID is now recognized as vascular and a growing body of evidence shows that microthrombi lead to neurological, cardiovascular and pulmonary problems . Sometimes they are as minor as fatigue and a higher heart rate lasting several weeks, but you probably know someone who has experienced other effects such as COVID-19 or brain fog. There is also evidence that the ongoing tide of colds that our bodies can’t fight off, the flu, and the rise of fungal infections are an indirect result of our immune system being overwhelmed . While all of this may seem like a small problem, because the risk of imminent death is no longer ubiquitous, prolonged COVID is causing many people to become so disabled that they cannot work , and it is not only the old and infirm who suffer. .
It is important to do everything possible to minimize the viral load during each of these infections and to get infected as little as possible. One of our tools is interventions like Paxlovid, which is touted as being primarily for those with potential severe consequences, although science says it will benefit most people by reducing the risk of long-term COVID by up to 30%. The path to getting Paxlovid starts with a positive test, and you can only get a script for Paxlovid during the first five days after your symptoms start.
How to get tested right now
The testing centers that used to grace the streets of big cities and the parking lots of convention centers and trade fairs are gone. When national testing conglomerates such as Curative and Carbon Health decided to close their testing centers, it meant that access to government- or insurance-covered rapid testing was limited. These were usually PCR or molecular tests, which are considered to be much more accurate than the usual rapid antigen/lateral flow tests we do at home. In fact, there is good evidence that rapid antigen tests (RATs) give inaccurate negative results during the first 5-6 days after infection , but the PCR/molecular test will be accurate during this time.
You can still get home tests from pharmacies, Costco, Amazon, and most grocery stores, and they will all be rapid antigen/lateral flow tests. They are not bad, because a positive result is almost always reliable, even if a negative one in the first few days is not. They are good for the back end of the infection, telling you when you are no longer infectious (because the five-day rule is the result of capitalism, not science ).
To get a PCR or molecular test, you have two options: go to a place where you can get the test, perhaps an emergency room or travel testing location, or shell out for new home molecular tests. These tests are now offered by two companies: Cue Health has a center and separate rapid molecular tests, but they are expensive: $50–$75 each. But Lucira Health has a $25-$35 molecular test. With your $12 refund per test, that’s $13 out of everyone’s pocket.
How does the refund work?
If you need rapid antigen tests, the easiest way to get them is to call the pharmacy and request eight tests for that month. Your pharmacist can complete the script. In most cases, your health insurance has already negotiated with big chains like Walgreens, RiteAid, and CVS, so that’s all you need to do. When they’re ready, go get them.
Ordering online is a little more difficult and rapid molecular tests must be ordered online. First, make sure they are covered by your health insurance (in my experience, most insurance companies cover the two mentioned above, Cue and Lucira). You will then need to pay for them in advance and keep the receipt. All insurance companies have forms that you fill out to get reimbursed, and the real problem is finding the form. The fastest way is to just call your insurance company and ask. This is a pharmacy reimbursement, so ask the pharmacy or call the pharmacy number on your card to get there faster. Fill out the form, send it along with your receipt, and you can expect a check in about eight weeks.
Although refunds end on May 11th, they will still pay claims for purchases made before then, so if you order today and again in 30 days, you can stock up on 2 months of tests. Even if you think you won’t need them, get them anyway. Use them to make sure you can safely spend time with immunocompromised people like your aging parents and grandparents, or friends you haven’t seen in three years. Give them to those who need them. Make them just screw the insurance companies around – this is one of the very few times in your life when you can do it.
A pandemic may be “ended,” but that’s the thing about pandemics: they never really end.