You Can Now Order Free Covid Home Tests Online

The only way to know for sure if you have Covid or not is to take a Covid test. Especially since symptoms of the omicron variant are similar to those of the common cold, it can be nearly impossible to tell the difference without a test. Meanwhile, some people are asymptomatic.

In order to play it safe, it’s always a good idea to take a Covid test before and after traveling or attending large gatherings. It’s also a good idea to take a Covid test if you think you’ve been exposed to someone who has Covid or if you have any symptoms at all. Don’t ignore a runny nose or a tickle in your throat.

Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to get an appointment for a Covid test. At the beginning of the year, we saw up to a week wait to get a PCR or rapid Covid test at a testing location. Thankfully, rapid at home Covid tests exist, but sometimes getting your hands on at home tests can be as hard as finding toilet paper in March 2020. You still might have to wait days for the tests to arrive at your doorstep.

In an ideal world, we would have Covid tests at home waiting for us to use them whenever we might need them. Ideally these tests would also be free. The Biden administration had decided to make this a reality for US households.

Starting today, January 18, 2022, you can order 4 free at home Covid test kits. All you have to do is go to https://www.covidtests.gov/ or https://special.usps.com/testkits and fill out your name and address. Tests will be sent to Americans approximately 7-12 days after the order is placed.

Each household is eligible for 2 packs of test kits. Each pack comes with 2 kits inside. If more than one person at your address fills out the form for free test kits, you will still only receive 2 packs of 2 kits, totaling 4 tests.

While getting four free at home test kits is great, if you have multiple people living in your home, that might not be enough to last very long. The Biden administration is helping there too by requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of at home Covid-19 tests. According to a press release from The White House, starting January 15, 2022, “Insurance companies and health plans are required to cover eight free at-home tests per covered individual per month. That means a family of four, all on the same plan, would be able to get 32 of these tests covered by their health plan per month.”

Are you going to place your order for 4 free at home test kits? Do you think it’s a good idea for insurance companies to cover the cost of at home Covid tests?