Express Scripts, United States Government Offer Ways to get Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests

February 1, 2022

Good news! Both Express Scripts and the United States Government are offering ways for you to get free at home Covid-19 tests. To learn more, please review the information below.

*Express Scripts

Navigating COVID-19 can be hard, but Express Scripts is making it easy for you to afford an at-home COVID-19 test when you need one. If you have Express Scripts pharmacy coverage through the Benefit Funds, you can visit your local retail pharmacy for at-home COVID-19 tests at no cost to you.

Here’s how it works:

• Call your local retail pharmacy to see if they have at-home COVID-19 tests available.
• Take your Express Scripts ID card to a retail pharmacy in your network.
• Bring the COVID-19 test to the pharmacy counter, not the regular checkout lane.
• Check out at the pharmacy counter and show your ID card. Your at-home COVID-19 test should automatically ring up at no cost to you.

Here are a few helpful places to find information:

To find a retail pharmacy in your network- Visit www.express-scripts.com and click “ Find a Pharmacy.” You can also use the Express Scripts’ mobile app. If you weren’t able to purchase your at-home COVID-19 test(s) at the pharmacy counter–or happened to be charged–you can submit your receipt for reimbursement of up to $12 per test online at Express Scripts’ COVID-19 resource center.

*Please note that the Express Scripts zero cost over-the-counter COVID-19 test kit program does not apply to Medicare-Eligible Retirees utilizing UnitedHealthcare (“UHC”) coverage. While there are plans in place for Medicare to eventually cover over-the-counter tests in the future, they have not yet been implemented. As such, we recommend that Medicare-Eligible participants/dependents use the following options to obtain free COVID-19 testing:

• Request free over-the-counter tests for home delivery at www.covidtests.gov.
• Access COVID-19 tests through healthcare providers at over 20,000 free testing sites nationwide. A list of community-based testing sites can be found here.
• Access lab-based PCR tests and antigen tests performed by a laboratory when the test is ordered by a physician, non-physician practitioner, pharmacist, or other authorized health care professional at no cost. In addition to accessing a COVID-19 lab test ordered by a health care professional, people with Medicare can also already access one lab-performed test without an order, also without cost sharing, during the public health emergency.

United States Government

The United States Federal government recently launched a new website that allows the general public to order free at-home rapid COVID-19 test kits. You can request test kits to be shipped to your home by visiting www.covidtests.gov and filling out the appropriate online forms. Your request will then be processed and the test kits will be shipped to your homes in 7-12 days through the United States Postal Service. Please visit the government’s website to read any restrictions or limitations that may apply.