# Medicare to Pay for At-Home COVID-19 Tests

By Human Events · Published 2022-02-03 · News & Analysis › Politics · https://humanevents.com/news/medicare-to-pay-for-at-home-covid-19-tests

> Medicare will soon pay for at-home COVID-19 tests for beneficiaries. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday a new initiative that will allow Medicare beneficiaries and people with Medicare Advantage plans to access up to eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month for free at participating pharmacies and retailers, beginning “in the early spring,” \[…\]

Medicare will soon pay for at-home COVID-19 tests for beneficiaries.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday a new initiative that will allow Medicare beneficiaries and people with Medicare Advantage plans to access up to eight over-the-counter COVID-19 tests per month for free at participating pharmacies and retailers, beginning "in the early spring,” *The Hill* [reports](https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/592635-medicare-to-pay-for-at-home-covid-19-tests-this-spring).

Medicare will directly reimburse participating pharmacies and other retailers, allowing beneficiaries to pick up tests for free.

"There are a number of issues that have made it difficult to cover and pay for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests. However, given the importance of expanding access to testing, CMS has identified a pathway that will expand access to free over-the-counter testing for Medicare beneficiaries," the agency said in a statement.

The move comes shortly after the White House began requiring private insurance companies to cover the cost of eight at-home tests per person each month, as previously reported by *Human Events News.*

The policy, however, did not apply to Medicare beneficiaries. Medicare only pays for COVID-19 tests taken at laboratories. If the test is ordered by a physician, pharmacist or "authorized health care professional," there's no cost to the beneficiary.