CHICAGO, Ill. (WTVO) — BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, the largest health insurer in the state, will stop paying for at-home COVID-19 tests in about two weeks.
The company said that it will no longer cover the tests when the Federal Emergency Declaration ends on May 11. The Federal Reserve had been requiring health insurance companies to pay for eight over the counter COVID-19 tests per month.
It will also change polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test coverage to like how it covers tests for flu or strep.
Other Illinois insurers, like United Healthcare, Cigna and Aetna, have not announced their plans.
It is feared that the virus could potentially spread with tests not being covered as they were in the past.