At-Home COVID Test Reimbursement: From Blue Shield to Kaiser, How to Get Your Health Insurance to Pay You Back - KQED

People covered by Medicare are currently not eligible to get reimbursed for at-home COVID-19 tests. However, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans are required to cover the costs of at-home tests. In California, this includes all Medi-Cal plans as well. If your Medi-Cal plan is provided by any of the major insurers we include in our guide, you can request a reimbursement by following the same format.

Some insurers will reimburse for the tests you’ve purchased

Some insurance companies, like Kaiser Permanente, Aetna and Blue Shield of California, are asking policyholders to request a reimbursement after purchasing a COVID-19 test by filling out a claim form.

These forms are usually returned by mail, and you’ll most likely find the address for where to mail it on the form itself.

These reimbursement forms request that you also submit a receipt of these purchases — so if you buy the tests at a pharmacy, be sure to keep your receipt.

Some insurers will cover the cost of your tests up-front when you buy them

Some insurance companies are choosing to cover the cost of tests at the time of purchase. For example, that’s what UnitedHealthcare is doing with a very select number of test providers, like Rite Aid and Walmart Pharmacy. If you’re covered by UHC and have Optum Rx benefits, you can show your member ID card when picking up your tests at one of these stores.

Other insurers, encouraged by the federal government, also have set up networks of preferred stores and pharmacies where policyholders can get tests with no up-front costs. If your insurer has set up a network like this, you can still buy tests from other places — but you most likely won’t be fully reimbursed, because insurance companies are only required to cover up to $12 per test if they were bought outside that network.

Remember, only some insurance companies have a network of preferred test providers. If your insurer doesn’t have one, you can go through the regular reimbursement process.

Beginning Tuesday, you can also order up to four at-home COVID tests per household, to be delivered for free via the United States Postal Service. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)