At-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests: Here's what you need to know

At-home coronavirus tests are becoming more accessible in Greater Lansing as federal officials make them easier to obtain. Here's what to know about at-home tests:

How will the government make them accessible?

Federal officials announced multiple measures to increase access to home testing kits. Those include:

• A new website where every U.S. resident can order four free rapid antigen testing kits.

• A reimbursement program to cover the costs of eight rapid tests per month for people with health insurance.

• Smaller shipments of tests headed to community health centers, where they'll be made available.

At-home tests also can be purchased online and from some pharmacies and other stores. The kits generally start at $10-12 per test for rapid antigen tests, with some brands costing more than others.

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How does the insurance reimbursement work?

There are two ways, according to a frequently-asked-questions document issued by the federal government: either insurance companies set up a network of test providers where their members pick up kits for free at the point of sale, or members must buy the tests and save their receipt to submit a claim later.

People are asked to contact their insurance provider directly to see whether they are connected to a program.

It doesn't matter whether the tests are purchased at one time or separately, as long as they don't exceed eight tests per month, the document said.

Purchases became eligible to be reimbursed starting Jan. 15. If you have health insurance and purchased an at-home test since then, officials suggest saving your receipt and submitting a claim.

In an email, a spokesperson from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan said reimbursements claims for members can be submitted through the mail. A form is available online at bcbsm.com/coronavirus.

"Members can submit their receipts by mail and will be mailed a reimbursement check within 60 days," the statement said.

Ineligible for the reimbursement are those without health insurance and the more than 1.1 million Michiganders who have original Medicare coverage.

When will health centers get free tests?

The Department of Health and Human Services will be providing 50 million free at-home tests to community health centers and Medicare-certified health clinics, according to the FAQ document.

Ingham Community Health Centers will be able to place orders for at-home tests as soon as next week, said Madison Van Epps, health communications specialist at the Ingham County Health Department, in a written statement.

"The U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration did not provide an estimate of the arrival of the test kits," Van Epps said. "The at-home COVID-19 test kits will be available to both (Community Health Center) patients and the Ingham community. In terms of the limit, the CHCs are still working to determine the number of test kits that can be allocated towards each family or person."

When should you use an at-home test?

As the at-home rapid antigen tests become more widely available, experts say it's important to recognize which situations they're more and less suited to be used in.

Dr. Subhashis Mitra, interim chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Michigan State University, said rapid antigen tests are very helpful for detecting active infection, especially if the person taking the test is symptomatic.

Antigen tests detect proteins from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from a nasal swab. They are less sensitive than PCR tests which Mitra said can amplify smaller amounts of virus and even return positive results from dead virus RNA.

“For infectiousness, the rapid test is better," Mitra said. "If you're not infectious anymore, then that will come back negative.”

On the other hand, Mitra said because rapid antigen tests need higher levels of viral load to register a positive result, it's also important to be cautious when using them.

He recommends taking two rapid antigen tests about 1-2 days apart for more precise results.

"With the Omicron variant, we are seeing that even if you tested negative, after a couple of days you might test positive if you truly have the infection, just because it's replicating much faster than the previous variants," Mitra said.

According to preliminary findings from recent studies, the incubation period for the Omicron variant could be shorter than past versions of the virus, with some estimates having it as low as three days. As a result, Mitra said the first one should be conducted a few days after exposure occurs to reflect the shorter incubation period.

"If you’re negative on both, then you’re probably pretty good for that period of time unless you have an exposure in between," Mitra said.

At-home antigen tests rival the efficacy of ones administered by a medical professional, Mitra said.

What should you know if you need "proof" of a negative test?

At-home antigen tests currently are not accepted for some public venues that require proof of a negative test in lieu of proof of vaccination. For example, Michigan State University requires documentation of a negative test from a medical professional or proof of COVID-19 vaccination, to attend athletic, music and arts events on campus.

In addition, according to USA TODAY, international travel and some domestic locations including Puerto Rico, Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have testing requirements. Some can be satisfied using an at-home test, albeit with several caveats:

• Its usage must have been supervised by a telehealth proctor, who can also confirm the individual's identity and test results.

• It must be an antigen test or a nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT).

• It must have emergency-use authorization from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

"They want to see it done in a lab where they watched you put a swab in your nose," David Weber, a professor of medicine, pediatrics and epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told USA TODAY. "Nothing prevents you from just opening the kit, picking the swab out and putting it in (your nose) without touching your body surface and then saying 'See, I have a negative test' and taking a picture on your phone."

More: Free COVID tests are on their way. Will they work for travel?

More: Free COVID-19 tests: What you need to know to order tests or get reimbursed

Contact reporter Jared Weber at 517-582-3937 or jtweber@lsj.com.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: At-home COVID-19 tests: Here's what you need to know