Senators ask Department of Defense to authorize at-home COVID-19 test coverage for TRICARE [Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.]

Jan. 19—WASHINGTON — Although most Americans are able to have up to eight at-home COVID-19 tests per month covered by their health insurance, military service members and their families covered by TRICARE cannot.

A group of U.S. senators, including Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., are hoping to change that.

In a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III, Sen. Gillibrand and five other Democrats asked that the Department of Defense expand the TRICARE program's coverage to include at-home COVID-19 tests the same way private health insurance does.

"We write to urge the Department of Defense to expand TRICARE coverage to include at-home tests under the same requirements as the Biden Administration is requiring for those covered under private insurance," the letter reads.

Alongside Sen. Gillibrand, Sens. Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, Elizabeth A. Warren, D-Mass., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Tina Smith, D-Minn., signed onto the letter.

On Jan. 10, President Joseph R. Biden issued an executive order requiring that all American insurance companies and group health plans cover up to eight at-home COVID tests per month, per person covered, starting on Jan. 15. For eight tests, the out-of-pocket cost can reach $100 or more,

No orders have been issued for all of the health care programs run by the U.S. government, like Medicare or TRICARE. Only Medicaid offers coverage for at-home tests as of this week.

TRICARE is the primary DOD health insurance program, offering civilian health benefits to members of the U.S. military, service retirees and their dependents. It provides coverage to 1.14 million active-duty soldiers, 1.64 million active-duty family members, and 2.34 million retirees and family members ages 65 and older, according to Health.mil.

"It is critical that the 9.6 million TRICARE beneficiaries have access to at-home tests to keep them and their communities safe," the senators wrote.

Under the current rules, a TRICARE beneficiary must have an official order for a test issued by a medical provider who participates in the TRICARE system. The health plan does offer coverage for PCR tests administered at testing sites at no cost to the beneficiary.

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