Where to find COVID-19 at-home test kits and how to get reimbursed through your insurance
The Biden Administration announced that starting on Jan. 15, insurers must reimburse their customers when they buy an over-the-counter COVID-19 take-home test.
Per the administration, people can submit their receipts to their insurance provider for up to eight Food and Drug Administration approved take-home tests that they've bought within 30 days.
The Argus Leader did some of the hard work already, figuring out which stores still have take-home tests on shelves, where to find free tests that will be shipped to you and how to get your insurance to reimburse you.
USA Today: How easy will health insurers make it to get free, at-home COVID-19 tests?
How can I get reimbursed through my insurance for my over-the-counter at-home COVID-19 test kit?
Any FDA-approved COVID-19 take-home test kits purchased at local pharmacies and retailers after Jan. 15 are eligible for insurance reimbursement, according to the Biden administration.
In South Dakota, Sanford Health Plan and Avera Health Plans are working to push information out on how their members can submit their claims.
Avera Health Plans will have information on how to get up to a $12 reimbursement on their website this week, Greg Jasmer, the Chief Administrative Offcer for Avera Health Plans, said.
More: Looking for a COVID test? Here are tips to find at-home testing kits and get them for free
"If I were sitting in a consumer shoes right now, I'd probably call my health plan and just ask what the best steps are," Jasmer said, adding that Avera Health Plans will expect members to save their receipts and the UPC code on the COVID-19 test kit box before filing their claims.
Claims and receipts can be either mailed, emailed or faxed to Avera Health Plans.
Jasmer added that Avera Health Plans members who have a CVS Caremark card are automatically eligible for free over-the-counter COVID-19 take-home tests at participating pharmacies.
Sanford Health Plan members must submit a claim form and detailed receipt through the mail, according to Aleesa Jansick, senior director of risk and regulation at Sanford Health Plan.
The form can be found on Sanford Health Plan's website at the top of the page, according to Jansick.
Wellmark, part of Blue Cross & Blue Shield, will also allow members to submit a claim to CVS for either a $12 test or $24 for a box of two tests reimbursement, according to Megan Garrett, a PR manager for Wellmark.
People on Medicare won't have to worry about submitting reimbursement forms, according to Jansick and Jasmer. Medicare members can receive free at-home COVID-19 test kits through the Department of Health and Human Services.
Which Sioux Falls stores have COVID-19 take-home test kits?
The following is a list of pharmacies and stores with at-home test kits as of Tuesday morning. Call ahead if you're worried about there not being any kits on shelves. Both CVS stores were out of COVID-19 take-home tests, according to their phone menu.
Note: Walmart could not confirm whether tests were in stock over the phone and Walgreen's was unavailable.
Hy-Vee at Cliff Avenue and 57th Street
Hy-Vee at South Sycamore
Hy-Vee at Marion Road
Hy-Vee at East 10th Street
Hy-Vee at the Empire Mall
Lewis Drug at 10th Street and Philips Avenue
Lewis Drug at 10th Street and Cliff Avenue
Lewis Drug at 12th Street and Kiwanis Avenue
Lewis Drug at 37th Street and Minnesota Avenue
Lewis Drug at 41st Street and Marion Road
Lewis Drug at 69th Street and Louise Avenue
Avera Pharmacy at 4400 West 69th Street Suite 300
Avera Pharmacy at 1200 South 7th Avenue
Avera Pharmacy at 6100 South Louise Avenue Suite 1100
Avera Dermatology Pharmacy at 6701 South Minnesota Avenue
Avera Pharmacy at 1325 South Cliff Avenue Suite CP
Avera Specialty Pharmacy at 1301 South Cliff Avenue Suite 200
South Dakota Urban Indian Health Clinic at 1200 Northwest Avenue
How to get COVID-19 test kits shipped to your house
The South Dakota Department of Health, through Vault Health, is providing no-cost COVID-19 saliva tests that can be shipped to your house and then mailed back to a lab for testing.
When signing up for the Vault Health COVID-19 test, you must provide an email address and a photo ID so that a Vault test supervisor can confirm your identity during a Zoom call where they will show you how to preform the test, according to the website.
More: Biden administration to launch website for free 500 million COVID-19 testing kits on Wednesday
After completing your saliva test, you must then use the prepaid UPS package to ship the sample back to the lab, where you'll have results in 24-48 hours, according to the website.
The U.S. Postal Service is also providing up to a set of four free COVID-19 at-home test kits. You can order the tests at their website and the kits are expected to start shipping in late January.
However, USPS is limiting the at-home test kits to one set of four per residential address.
Follow Annie Todd on Twitter @AnnieTodd96. Reach out to her with tips, questions and other community news at atodd@argusleader.com or give her a call at 605-215-3757.
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Where to find at home COVID tests & how to get insurance reimbursement
