You Can Still Get Free COVID-19 Tests Through Insurance
Planning to gather with loved ones over the holidays? Here's a timely reminder that every member of your family enrolled in health insurance is eligible for eight free rapid at-home COVID-19 tests every month. That goes for whatever insurance you have—whether it’s through Medicare, the Affordable Care Act marketplace, Medicaid, or your employer—because rapid-test reimbursement is still required by the federal government.
There are two main ways to purchase these tests. The first is to pick them up at a pharmacy or store that your plan designates as “in-network.” If you’re on Medicare, there’s also a partial list of the pharmacies offering over-the-counter tests here. In many cases, the advantage is that you won’t have to pay for the tests; they’ll be immediately covered. Some pharmacies, including Walgreens and CVS, also offer online programs where you can locate tests, enter your insurance information, and then pick them up in person.
However, insurance companies sometimes require people to purchase tests themselves—online, at a pharmacy, or from other retailers—and then apply to be reimbursed. Your plan is required to reimburse you up to $12 per test (or $24 for a box of two). Before buying, you should check your individual insurer’s requirements for reimbursement—and plan to hang on to your receipt. There are some contexts in which insurers are not required to reimburse for testing. For example, they are not legally bound to pay for ongoing tests demanded by an employer as a condition of employment.
In some situations, however, insurers don't cover tests immediately, and patients can only be reimbursed afterwards. In these instances, you can purchase tests online, at an out-of-network pharmacy, or from other retailers and get them reimbursed through your insurance company. Your plan is required to reimburse you for up to $12 per individual test (which means that you would be reimbursed up to $24 for a two-pack). Before buying, you should check your individual insurer’s requirements—and plan to hang on to your receipt. Insurers may also have some exclusions; for instance, they’re not required to reimburse tests used for employment .
At this point in the pandemic, at-home rapid COVID-19 tests are indispensable tools. Experts recommend taking them before gathering with other people, especially if they’re at high risk of severe disease (including those over age 65) or are not up-to-date on their vaccines. You should also test whenever you have COVID-19 symptoms, like a fever, sore throat, or runny nose, or after coming into contact with someone who has had COVID-19 in the last five days.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
Nearly 638.1 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 10 a.m. today, and over 6.6 million people have died. On Nov. 20, there were 221,701 new cases and 509 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending, in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 10 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 98.3 million coronavirus cases as of 10 a.m. today. Nearly 1.08 million people have died. On Nov. 20, there were 3,268 new cases reported in the U.S., and 0 deaths were confirmed.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Nov. 21. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts,click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
While 70% of people worldwide have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, only 24% of people in low-income countries have, according to a Nov. 9 report from the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO urged companies and governments to take steps to equalize these discrepancies, including by developing and manufacturing vaccines for infectious diseases. It’s also important to create a network of vaccines and manufacturers who can respond in future crises, as my colleague Alice Park reports .
China reported that three people died from COVID-19 over the weekend in Beijing, the country’s first deaths from the virus since May, according to CNN.China is the last major global economy to be pursuing a strict “Zero COVID” policy that attempts to block the virus through measures like mass testing, lockdowns, and quarantines. In Beijing, schools in several districts moved to online classes on Monday. Meanwhile, the city Guangzhou in southeastern China locked down its largest district, where 3.7 million people live, as the city reported 9,000 new cases on Monday—the most in the country, the Associated Press reports.
Why aren’t you hearing about monoclonal antibody treatments any more? There are two main reasons, NPR reports. For one, doctors began opting instead for Paxlovid antiviral pills, which can help protect higher risk patients from getting seriously ill from COVID-19. Second, they’ve been outpaced by new variants, which are harder for the antibodies to bind to as the spike proteins—which the treatments bind to—change over time. The last antibody treatment still being used, bebtelovimab, is expected to become obsolete soon due to recent Omicron subvariants. However, scientists are striving to develop monoclonal antibody treatments that could continue to be effective as new variants evolve.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Angela Haupt.
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