Free COVID-19 antigen tests available

All individuals on Marquette’s medical plans can purchase over-the-counter COVID-19 tests authorized by the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at no cost or at a reimbursement rate of $12 as of Saturday, Jan. 15. Four free at-home COVID-19 tests per household can also be ordered by anyone through the federal government via the covidtests.gov website.

At-home tests through the federal government

Every home in the United States is eligible to order four free at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests through the federal government at covidtests.gov. Orders are limited to four per household and will ship for free starting in late January.

Shipping is expected to take seven to 12 days.

Over-the-counter tests through Navitus

Over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits will be covered at a reimbursement rate of up to $12 per test for those on Marquette’s medical plans, with a limit of eight tests per covered individual every 30 days for test kits obtained without a health care provider’s involvement or prescription. This quantity limit does not apply to test kits ordered by a health care provider.

Navitus, the pharmacy benefits manager for Marquette’s plans, recommends members get their at-home COVID-19 test kits at the pharmacy counter to ensure the kits are processed properly. At Navitus’ network of over 58,000 pharmacies, these claims will be adjudicated at the point of sale. Tests packaged in multi-packs will be processed accordingly.

Navitus’ list of network pharmacies can be viewed online. If a member does pay out of pocket, the Direct Member Reimbursement form can be downloaded online.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is providing up to 50 million free at-home tests to community health centers and Medicare-certified clinics for distribution at no cost to patients and community members. A list of community-based sites can be found online.

Examples of FDA authorized over-the-counter COVID-19 tests include, but are not limited to:

  • BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self Test
  • CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Home Test
  • Ellume COVID-19 Home Test
  • Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test
  • iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid Test
  • InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test
  • QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test