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Starting on Monday (April 4), Medicare enrollees will be able to receive up to eight at-home COVID-19 tests per month free of charge from more than a dozen pharmacies and retailers across the country.
Albertsons, Costco, CVS, Food Lion, Giant Food, The Giant Company, Hannaford, H-E-B Pharmacy, Hy-Vee, Kroger Family, Rite Aid, Shop & Stop, Walgreens, and Walmart, have all agreed to participate in the program.
Because Medicare is paying the stores directly, Medicare enrollees will not have to pay any money out of pocket to pick up the tests.
"This is the first time in the history of the Medicare program that we are paying for an over-the-counter service or test," said Dr. Meena Seshamani, a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services deputy administrator. "It really speaks to how important it is that we increase access during this pandemic for these over-the-counter tests."
The move will make it even easier for the 59 million Medicare enrollees to get at-home COVID tests.
"This is all part of our overall strategy to ramp-up access to easy-to-use, at-home tests free of charge," Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement.
Officials said that the free tests would be available until the COVID-19 public health emergency has ended. The health emergency is set to expire in mid-April, though Becerra is expected to extend it for an additional three months.