Details still have to be worked out on having U.S. insurers pay for at-home COVID tests

WASHINGTON – Private insurers will have to cover 100% of the cost of at-home coronavirus tests, President Joe Biden announced Thursday in laying out a plan to combat COVID-19 during the winter months.

“The bottom line, this winter, you’ll be able to test for free, in the comfort of your home and have some piece of mind," Biden said.

Many of the details of that requirement must be worked out through the rule-making process.

While experts have encouraged the administration to expand testing, the administration is taking a different approach from some other nations that essentially distribute free tests to anyone who wants them. ...

Experts say the details of the Biden administration’s new testing rule will be critically important.

“Anything that removes the financial barriers to accessing testing is great,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “How much of an impact that will have will depend on the details.” ...