OKLAHOMA CITY — Group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance coverage must pay for over-the-counter COVID-19 tests, State Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready announced.
The requirement went into effect Jan. 15, he said.
Under the new guidelines, the tests may be either free or reimbursed by the insurer. Health plans and insurance companies are incentivized to set up a network of pharmacies or retailers so their members can conveniently order or pick up COVID-19 tests that will be covered up-front.
The Insurance Department asked all regulated insurance companies to provide a description of how the administration of coverage for at-home OTC COVID-19 tests will be handled and communicated to their insureds and members.
“Like the rest of the nation, Oklahoma is facing a new surge with the omicron variant,” Mulready noted. “Continued testing is critical to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuring the health and safety of our communities.”
If you purchase an over-the-counter COVID-19 test from a pharmacy, store, or online retailer and are charged for your test, “keep your receipt and submit a claim to your insurance company for reimbursement,” Mulready advised. “If your plan has not set up a network of preferred stores, pharmacies, and online retailers at which you can obtain a test with no out-of-pocket expense, consumers will be reimbursed the amount of the cost of the test.”
If your plan has established a network of preferred stores, pharmacies, and online retailers from which you can obtain a test with no out-of-pocket expense, “you can still obtain tests from other retailers if you buy them outside of that network,” the commissioner said. “Your plan is required to reimburse you at a rate of up to $12 per individual test (or the cost of the test, if less than $12). Save your receipt(s) to submit to your plan for reimbursement.”
In a related matter, the Biden Administration announced that a federal website where Americans can order free coronavirus rapid tests was launched Jan. 18, and households will be allowed to order up to four tests.
The website, called covidtests.gov, will require users to provide their name and address to receive the tests.
The government purchased 500 million rapid tests that will be available to every household and will limit to four the number of tests sent to each address, senior administration officials said. The officials said the tests will be shipped within seven to 12 days after being ordered.