As of today, you should be able to order free Covid-19 at-home test kits through a new federal government website and have them mailed to your door — although the site might have some bugs.
Announced last December as part of a larger Biden administration initiative to combat surging Omicron cases, over 500 million test kits — later upped to 1 billion — have been made available to all Americans.
How to get free test kits in the mail
From the first batch of 500 million test kits, there will be a limit of four test kits per household. It's not yet clear what the limits might be for a second batch of 500 million test kits. Delivery is expected to be between 7-12 days, according to a White House statement.
Orders can be placed by visiting Covidtests.gov, which launched Tuesday ahead of the initial target date of Wednesday, Jan. 19. To submit an order, you'll>You can also get your kits reimbursed through insurance
As of January 15, the cost of up to eight at-home Covid-19 tests per month will be covered by your private health insurer. Additionally, test kit costs are now covered by insurance if they're part of a clinical assessment by a health-care provider, which would give you eight free tests per month, plus whatever number of tests a doctor asks you to take. More information on that can be found in this CNBC Make It article.
Free in-person tests are also available in over 20,000 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services health centers, or are otherwise available through local and state government programs. More information about your Covid testing options can be found here.
