By the end of the month, U.S. households will again be able to order free at-home COVID-19 tests from the federal government.
While the agency that oversees the testing has not announced an exact date for ordering to begin, the website, COVIDtests.gov, says tests can be ordered “at the end of September 2024.”
Each household will be eligible for four free COVID-19 tests. The tests will be able to detect current COVID-19 variants and can be used through the end of the year.
Operated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the program has distributed more than 900 million tests since it began.
At-home tests are available for sale around the U.S. and retail for an average of $11, according to one 2023 nationwide study by the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.
The federal Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 expired on May 11, 2023. During the PHE, the federal government required private health plans to cover COVID-19 tests ordered or administered by a clinician at no out-of-pocket charge to the patient. Private insurers were also required to reimburse for up to eight at-home rapid tests per member, per month.
Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.
