This is to support greater COVID-19 mitigation efforts and to ensure that those most at risk for COVID-19 have access to at-home self-testing and point-of-care testing supplies. People with Medicare can access one lab performed test without cost sharing per patient per year without an order. At this time original Medicare cannot pay for at-home tests through this program.
If you don’t have a My HealtheVet Premium account, you can get one now. PCR tests are slower but usually more accurate, and may be useful if an official test is needed. You’ll mail back your swab and get results a few days later.
Individuals who went a gathering without social distancing and/or not wearing a face covering at all times are encouraged to get tested using community test sites. Due to overwhelming demand, test kit requests may take additional time to process. Test results must be from COVID 19 Test Kits within the past 5 days, and patients will be pre-screened for symptoms to determine their eligibility for treatment. If you were tested at a VA health facility and you have a My HealtheVet Premium account, you can get your test results online as soon as we have them.
The kit should include everything you need to complete the test from the comfort of your home. A PCR test is a type of molecular test that often requires a patient sample to be sent to a lab for analysis. Getting results can take anywhere from several hours to days after being received at the lab. A PCR test can sense low levels Disposable masks of viral genetic material (e.g., RNA), so these tests are usually highly sensitive, which means they are good at detecting a true positive result. CVS Pharmacy offers several home covid tests, includingBinaxNOW,Ellume,Pixel, andQuickVue. CVS Pharmacy also offers other in personcovid testingoptions at a location near you.
For the point-of-care tests, health centers should report tests conducted in the past two weeks. For a full list of questions in the biweekly survey, please see theCOVID-19 Data Collection Tool User Guide. Although rapid tests may be accepted by individual employers, schools, or airlines, the rapid tests made COVID 19 Test Kits available by DC Health are not proctored. DC Health is unable to provide copies of rapid test results or proof of rapid testing for the purpose of work/school reinstatement or travel purposes. We offer free COVID-19 self-test kits and diagnostic lab tests for Veterans who are enrolled in VA health care.