Thursday, November 21, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, May 21, 2020
​Got Medicare? Get a no-cost test for COVID-19
By News Release @ 12:39 AM :: 2335 Views :: COVID-19

Got Medicare? Get a no-cost test for COVID-19

by Seema Verma, Administrator, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

If you have Medicare and want to be tested for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the Trump Administration has good news.

Medicare covers tests with no out-of-pocket costs. You can get tested in your home, doctor’s office, a local pharmacy or hospital, a nursing home, or a drive-through site. Medicare does not require a doctor’s order for you to get tested.

Testing is particularly important for older people and nursing home residents, who are often among the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Widespread access to testing is a critical precursor to a safe, gradual reopening of America.

When a vaccine for COVID-19 is developed, Medicare will cover that, too.

For Medicare beneficiaries who are homebound and can’t travel, Medicare will pay for a trained laboratory technician to come to your home or residential nursing home to collect a test sample. (This doesn’t apply to people in a skilled nursing facility on a short-term stay under Medicare Part A, as the costs for this test, including sample collection, are already covered as part of the stay.)

If you receive Medicare home health services, your home health nurse can collect a sample during a visit. Nurses working for rural health clinics and federally qualified health clinics also can collect samples in beneficiaries’ homes under certain conditions.

Or you can go to a “parking lot” test site set up by a pharmacy, hospital, or other entity in your community.

We’re doing similar things in the Medicaid program, giving states flexibility to cover parking-lot tests as well as tests in beneficiaries’ homes and other community settings.

We also implemented the Families First Medicaid eligibility option, which allows states to cover tests for uninsured people with no cost-sharing. Individuals should contact their state Medicaid agency to apply for this coverage.

Both Medicare and Medicaid cover serology or antibody tests for COVID-19. These tests can help identify who has been exposed to the virus.

Medicare generally covers the entire cost of COVID-19 testing for beneficiaries with Original Medicare. If you’re enrolled in a Medicare Advantage health plan, your plan generally can’t charge you cost-sharing (including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance) for COVID-19 tests and the administration of such tests.

In addition, Medicare Advantage plans may not impose prior authorization or other utilization management requirements on the COVID-19 test or specified COVID-19 testing-related services for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency.

We have also required that private health issuers and employer group health plans cover COVID-19 testing, and certain related items and services, with no cost-sharing during the pandemic. This includes items and services that result in an order for, or administration of, a COVID-19 diagnostic test in a variety of medical settings, including urgent care visits, emergency room visits, and in-person or telehealth visits to the doctor’s office. 

From day one, Medicare has worked to ensure that cost is no barrier to being tested for COVID-19, and to make testing as widely and easily available as possible. As a result, we’ve seen a surge in testing among Medicare beneficiaries. Robust and widespread testing is of paramount importance as we begin easing back into normal life.

You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii