Free Covid tests will be available to order from government again starting next week

[DancesWithWife]

Starting next week, people will be able to once again request four free Covid tests from the government, the Biden administration said Wednesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services said that it is reopening its website COVIDTests.gov on Sept. 25. Households can order the tests to be delivered to their homes, free of charge. This is for the United States.

[dove]

Medicare used to give out 8 free tests is you just went to your pharmacy and used your Medicare card. Last time we did was a few months ago; not sure if they're still doing it but it's worth a try.

[dove]

7 minutes ago, dove said:

Medicare used to give out 8 free tests is you just went to your pharmacy and used your Medicare card. Last time we did was a few months ago; not sure if they're still doing it but it's worth a try.

 

For those who have Medicare.

[Qapla]

The free tests through Medicare ended in May - I was told this by my pharmacy. If you have a supplement/advantage plan that covers them, you may still be able to get them for free - I was told that most insurance companies ended the free one, too - since they were not being reimbursed by the Gov't.

 

This new program says they will be mailed to you so I don't know if they will be available at the pharmacy.

 

[computerwiz]

Indeed.  There is a brother in our congregation that was testing positive weeks after he was all better.  Some have said it can test positive for months.

 

I for one have had the opposite experience...I kept testing negative and negative and negative, till finally a few months ago I got my first positive.  It all depends on where the virus takes up resident and how well you administer the test too.

 

And then there's some that say you can use cola to get a false positive on the test.  I haven't tried that yet, so no idea if that works.

 

Bottom line is we really need to understand how things work, including the virus that was so confusing for so long, and use discernment with how we interpret the results.  The test is just one piece of the puzzle.  You also gotta know if you have symptoms you didn't have before, were around others that were obviously sick, and how long ago you were last sick.  We can never be 100% certain with this, even with the tests, so we go back to the common sense that if you feel sick and/or have symptoms, stay home!

 

But hey, can't argue with free tests.  Unless it's a sinister plot to infect your brain with nano bots that can take control of your body.  🤔 🤣 

[Tortuga]

1 minute ago, computerwiz said:

Unless it's a sinister plot to infect your brain with nano bots that can take control of your body

[DancesWithWife]

4 hours ago, Tortuga said:

I prefer chocolate chips. 

[walkr2]

On 9/20/2023 at 3:43 PM, DancesWithWife said:

Starting next week, people will be able to once again request four free Covid tests from the government, the Biden administration said Wednesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services said that it is reopening its website COVIDTests.gov on Sept. 25. Households can order the tests to be delivered to their homes, free of charge. This is for the United States.

 

Brother do you know if Medicare will pay for them or are they completely free. 

I received my Medicare information last week and noticed that someone charged Medicare $98.00 for "free covid19 tests"  that I never ordered or received.  So I related to this "company" that I never ordered any Covid19 tests because they were being given away by the health department in my city at the time. 

So after looking into the supposed situation, he said....Oh, I see what may have happened, we don't have your full address so you probably didn't receive them.  I said "Well! I'm in the middle of writing to Medicare to bring this to their attention as it appears to be fraudulent.   So he asked me to give him time to locate the information and he'll get back to me. I told him sure, I will not continue the letter until you get back to me!

 

I received an email about 20 mins or so later, and asked "How would you like me to handle this? I suggested "reimbursing" Medicare. He said he would do that!  

 

Voni in Iowa

[DancesWithWife]

1 minute ago, walkr2 said:

Brother do you know if Medicare will pay for them or are they completely free. 

What about those without Medicare? This is a chance to get 4 free tests. Not all have the same coverage for Medicare either. Since they are being sent free to all who request them directly from the government, there is no chance of accidently being charged. However, many insurance plans will no longer cover at-home COVID-19 tests as of May 2023 according to Walgreens.

 

I simply wanted everyone to know there is an option to get free tests regardless of their insurance. 

[DancesWithWife]

6 minutes ago, walkr2 said:

Brother do you know if Medicare will pay for them or are they completely free. 

I am sorry I read this incorrectly. I am not sure if Medicare will reimburse. According to what I just read they will not be paying for them. Please read the link that I got the information from: Does Medicare Cover COVID Testing, Treatment and Vaccines? - NerdWallet

Again, I am sorry for misreading your comment.

[DancesWithWife]

6 hours ago, computerwiz said:

There is a brother in our congregation that was testing positive weeks after he was all better.  Some have said it can test positive for months.

In our Congregation most of the current Covid cases have been repeats. My cousins and my brother and their spouses are also repeating Covid. Our next door neighbor who is not a JW has it real bad. She is another repeat Covid case.

 

Does anyone else see a repeat of those with Covid?

[Qapla]

I know a brother who is in his 20's and he has had Covid 5 times - he just had it about 3 weeks ago

 

[DancesWithWife]

10 hours ago, Qapla said:

I know a brother who is in his 20's and he has had Covid 5 times

I live in a senior community. The manager was making her inspection, and we had a brief conversation about health. This is the time f year when, my wife and I choose to get a flu shot. We were also encouraged to get the RSV shot. I had to check with our insurance that they would first cover it, and to do research on it.  I got the shot about 10 days later. I had no reaction to the flu, but the RSV was tough as I had some side effects. I had some joint & muscle pain for about 3 days. 

 

We then started to talk about the Covid booster for this Fall. The manager and the other resident were not going to get it. The irony was that my neighbor has a really bad case of Covid. I'm thinking you know that the person, who's apartment we are standing in front of has Covid really bad and the booster will help make sure you don't get as sick. I simply asked why they are not getting the booster. I am extremely careful when asking this to make sure politics comes into play. One said she didn't like the ingredients and the other said they felt uncomfortable. 

 

I made sure not to express my opinion on what they should do. The only thing I encouraged was what they felt they should do after coming to an informed decision.  

 

 

[computerwiz]

12 hours ago, DancesWithWife said:

Does anyone else see a repeat of those with Covid?

 

I think me and my wife had it again about a week ago, but in our case it has always been so hard to tell.  She had the long-haul symptoms, and they pretty much come back anytime she gets sick.  Last week she had a low fever, on & off smell issues, and intestinal issues (which can be from COVID, apparently).  But it wasn't enough to go to the doctor or even take a test (all the negatives we got despite much worse conditions keep our hopes low that it would even tell us anything)

 

In my case, I had intestinal issues, fatigue, and a cough.  But again, symptoms were not bad enough for me to check into it any further.  We did not get a booster recently (though did get 1 sometime last year, can't remember exactly when).  However, I attribute the low symptoms to taking Airborne (the vitamin seltzer) anytime we're around someone who sounds sick.  Or even at the first sign of sickness.  Also, using APeX Water nasal spray and gargling some at the first sign of sickness.  It's been months since we've been really sick, and I contribute that to being diligent about those 2 things.  Especially considering others around us are definitely getting sick...

[DancesWithWife]

3 minutes ago, computerwiz said:

She had the long-haul symptoms, and they pretty much come back anytime she gets sick

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things go better for the both of you. 

[computerwiz]

4 minutes ago, DancesWithWife said:

I'm sorry to hear that. I hope things go better for the both of you. 

 

Thanks!  With the most recent episode, I put her on a NAC, Zinc, & Glutathione regiment, and it seems to have worked.  Or she just naturally got over whatever we had.  Won't know for sure until the next sickness or high-stress event.  🤷‍♂️

[felito]

https://special.usps.com/testkits

[booboo]

Usps test kits only one order per address. There are 4 tests per kit are included.

[Qapla]

Already ordered ours ... got this email message:

 

Quote

Thank you for placing your order on USPS.com®.
 

Packages of COVID-19 tests will ship starting the week of October 2, 2023. Once your package ships, you'll receive a tracking number and updates on the expected delivery date.
 
 

 

[DancesWithWife]

My neighbor just bought some in town for $15. I am not sure if this is per tests. I ordered from the COVID.gov - Free at-home COVID-19 tests site. Here is what my email said. 

[Tortuga]

My 4 kits just arrived. 2 box with 2 tests in each one.

[minister159]

Our 4 kits were delivered today. Two boxes with two tests each. My wife also got the new Covid-19 and updated flu vaccination today. I'll be getting mine next week. I received a jury summons for Oct. 26th and I want to make sure I'm as protected as possible in the courthouse waiting room packed with potential carriers!