The coverage gaps created by the Biden administration's at-home COVID-19 test coverage guidelines doesn't solve barriers for a population that faces already-increased risks: Medicare beneficiaries, according to a Jan. 24 Kaiser Health News report.
Instead, the only access Medicare recipients have to free at-home COVID-19 tests are through the government's covidtests.gov and through 50 million tests provided to community health centers and Medicare-certified health clinics. However, the 50 million tests don't even provide the country's 62 million Medicare beneficiaries with one test each.
Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the program on Medicare policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, told Kaiser Health News that these opportunities don't do enough.
"Four tests is not a lot of tests," she said. "This is one of the most at-risk populations, and to not have the opportunity to buy at-home tests and get reimbursed puts this whole population on their back foot."