Hassan, colleagues urge Biden Administration to require Medicare to cover costs for rapid COVID-19 tests
U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Finance Committee which has oversight of the Medicare program, joined her Senate colleagues today to urge the Biden administration to extend its guidance requiring insurance companies to pay for rapid COVID-19 tests to include Medicare.
Currently, most private insurance companies are required to cover the cost of up to eight over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 tests per person, per month, but the 61 million Americans enrolled in original Medicare or private Medicare Advantage plans do not get this reimbursement.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Senator Hassan, and their colleagues sent a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Chiquita Brooks-LaSure urging them to expand Medicare coverage of free at-home rapid COVID-19 testing.
“Seniors and people with disabilities enrolled in Medicare are at the highest risk of severe illness from COVID-19, and people over 65 account for nearly three-quarters of all deaths from the virus. The current policy leaves them on the hook for potentially significant out-of-pocket costs,” the Senators wrote. “We share your commitment to making sure Medicare enrollees receive the highest quality health care, including access to free at-home rapid COVID-19 testing, and look forward to working with you to address this issue.”
Hassan is working to lower health care costs for all Americans, and led successful, bipartisan efforts with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) to help end the practice of surprise medical billing, which is now in effect. Senators Hassan and Cassidy also successfully passed into law their bipartisan legislation to enhance education about biosimilar drug products in an effort to increase competition and lower drug costs. Additionally, the American Rescue Plan, which Senator Hassan helped pass into law, is helping to lower health care costs for many Granite Staters who purchase health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.