Free over-the-counter COVID-19 tests (if you can find them)

COVID-19 tests are now available over-the-counter (OTC) (if you can find them) through pharmacies, retail stores, and online retailers, and health plans must cover the cost, according to recent guidance from several federal agencies.

Rules continue to evolve

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), which went into effect on March 18, 2020, generally required group health plans to provide benefits for certain items and services related to COVID-19 testing during the applicable emergency period. The plans must offer the coverage without imposing any cost-sharing requirements (including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance), prior authorization, or medical management rules.

Less than 10 days later, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act amended the FFCRA to include a broader range of diagnostic items and services the plans must cover without any cost-sharing requirements, previous authorizations, or other medical management obligations.

Then, in June 2020, the U.S. Departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury issued guidance stating the plans must cover COVID-19 tests intended for at-home use when the testing is ordered by an attending healthcare provider who has determined it’s medically appropriate. At the time, the departments noted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hadn’t yet authorized any coronavirus diagnostic tests to be completely used and processed at home.