GREENSBORO, N.C. — If you paid for an at-home test, can you submit it to your insurance?
The short answer is it depends.
Right now, insurance companies are covering COVID testing, including at-home COVID test kits, if your doctor gives you a prescription to get one from the pharmacy. If you simply want to test yourself for a family gathering, travel, or work purposes, most insurance does not cover the cost. However, you can use your HSA or FSA to pay for it.
This cost for at-home tests without a prescription is about to change. President Biden announced the government is going to buy billions of at-home test kits that you can get for free and he’s requiring your health insurance company to cover the charge if you buy one.
“Making free at-home tests more available than ever before, by having them covered by our private health insurance plans.”
So, when does that start? There's no concrete starting date, but it's looking like some kind of guidance will come out about it by mid-January.
From what we know, you'll still have to pay for the test and then submit your receipt to be reimbursed by your insurance company.
THE HOME TEST EXPERIENCE
I did a home COVID test just this morning and recorded it through a time-lapse. I didn't just open up the instructions and begin, I took time to read all the way through the instructions. You have to swirl the swab for a full 30 seconds, you have to rotate the swab while squeezing the tube so many times, you have to dispense 4 drops and then you wait the 15 minutes.
Seriously, we're all worked up about all the COVID mess as it is, do yourself a favor and read through all the instructions first before you start.
The easiest part of the test? Reading the results. You wait 15 minutes to get the results. I saw the one pink line there at the C, indicating my negative result. It is very clear, you won't be confused.