I forgot about this Medicare benefit until seeing a recent news story.
So I just went up to the pharmacy at our local Long’s Drugs, and said I was there to pick up the free tests. All they needed was my Medicare card and a little bit of time, and I walked away with four boxes (8 tests).
I’m sure other pharmacies are also part of the program.
You can also order online and your tests will be mailed to you.
Then I came home and threw away the stockpile of tests that had expired.
And I believe you can get 8 tests per month, so I’ll pick up another round for March. This way, there’s no reason not to test if you might need it.
This benefit ends, along with the pandemic emergency, in May, so now’s the time to act.
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Expiration dates have been extended on most covid tests as manufacturers accumulated more data. This link
provides the list of tests and their extended dates: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list
Expiration dates on covid tests may be extended. Check before tossing.
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-covid-19-diagnostic-tests-frequently-asked-questions#updated-expiration
Thanks.
Not all COVID tests expire on date indicated. Many dates have been extended by months. Go to the link to find out whether your test expirations have been extended and note new date on box.
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests#list
Unfortunately, checking against the list found almost all of our earlier tests were beyond even the extended expirations.
Investigate:, please — “free”?
How much do tests really cost in taxpayer dollars? A local company who had tasked ~25 employees to formulate and bid to provide tests to gvmnt, estimated could do for <$5/test.
The link for mail order tests doesn’t seem to work.
Is it that the form doesn’t work, or the link to the form is broken?
This shows up when I hit the Order button. My sister and brother had the same issue.
“Eligibility Verification Failure.
We were unable to verify your Medicare eligibility.
This may occur due to:
Current enrollment status with Medicare or Medicare Advantage is inactive.
Incorrectly spelled or inaccurately entered Legal Name (Must be entered as shown on your Government issued Identification)
Incorrectly entered Date of Birth”