Congressman Dan Goldman Calls for Federal Government to Maintain No-Cost Coverage of At-Home Covid Tests for Medicare Beneficiaries

Read the Letter Here

Washington, D.C – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) last week called for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to maintain coverage of at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests at no-cost to Medicare beneficiaries after the COVID-19 public health emergency ends. 

As part of the federal government’s response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, which is expected to wind down in the coming months, CMS took the important step of covering at-home COVID-19 diagnostic tests at no-cost to beneficiaries through a demonstration program. Older Americans make up 93 percent of deaths related to COVID, which is why it is critical that Medicare continue to cover life-saving no-cost COVID tests for beneficiaries as HHS plans for the future. 

The letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was led by Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-9) and co-signed by Congressman Goldman and 30 other Representatives. 

Text of the letter is below and can be read here: 

We commend the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for taking the important step of covering at-home COVID-19 diagnostic test at no-cost to beneficiaries through a demonstration program. In doing so, CMS has helped ensure Medicare beneficiaries have access to the same benefits as those with private insurance. The at-home COVID-19 diagnostic testing program has improved the health and wellbeing of Medicare beneficiaries around the country. As CMS determines which programs created during the public health emergency (PHE) should be maintained, we hope CMS will consider continuing this valuable demonstration program beyond the PHE.

We appreciate that CMS’s hard work has protected the lives of countless older and disabled adults. Given that the PHE is currently poised to end in the coming months we find ourselves at an important inflection point. Seniors will continue to live with the real threat of COVID-19, without many of the COVID-19 era PHE protections.

At-home diagnostic tests play an important role in helping identify and isolate cases of COVID-19. These tests help prevent further spread by allowing individuals to test themselves when they first present symptoms or are alerted to a possible exposure. These tests have important implications for public health, as millions of Americans now routinely test themselves before going into crowded social settings or seeing a relative who is particularly at-risk for severe disease. Easy access to testing with quick results has undoubtably prevented the spread of COVID-19 and enable Americans to resume normal life.

Ending Medicare coverage for at-home COVID-19 tests could undo much of this progress and make it harder for Medicare beneficiaries to obtain accurate and timely information about their health. For example, without coverage under Medicare, many older Americans will not be able to afford to pay out-of-pocket for these critical tests.

We understand that CMS’s demonstration program to cover at-home tests is slated to end along with the PHE. Yet, the need for readily accessible, at-home COVID-19 tests will not go away when the PHE ends. As new strains continue to emerge, we must ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have access to the diagnostic tools they’ve come to rely on.

We write to ask CMS to provide our offices with additional information on its authority and plans to potentially extend this demonstration program beyond the PHE.

Thank you again for your work to improve the lives of older Americans across this country. We look forward to continuing to work together to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and provide Medicare beneficiaries with what they need to stay healthy.

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