You Can Now Get Free COVID-19 Tests Through the Government Again
TimeNov 25, 2022
The Facts
On Thursday, Pres. Biden announced that his admin will resume providing free COVID tests to American households following the program's three-month hiatus. The announcement comes as the admin unveils its contingency plans for a winter surge in COVID infections.
The White House will use existing federal funding to pay for the at-home testing program after it was unsuccessful in securing additional funding from Congress for the COVID response.
The Spin
Republican narrative
Biden said the pandemic was over so mailing test kits is odd messaging. Providing additional funding for COVID is not a high priority for the House and is frankly off the table. The focus of Republican lawmakers is going to be on a long-term spending bill for the federal government and more important priorities.
Democratic narrative
The Biden admin has been very clear that funds are urgently needed to support COVID response efforts. Inaction will force harmful trade-offs to ensure American safety. The consequences of not increasing the funding will compound over time, and if the US fails to appropriately prepare, an untimely surge will increase the overall burden on taxpayers.
Cynical narrative
It's important to remember the origin of the Biden administration's policy to mail at-home COVID tests to Americans — former press secretary Jen Psaki's public relations gaffe to sneer at the very concept. An avalanche of outrage followed, and it's a reminder that this move was prompted by a public who rightly demanded better access to health tools as a public good.
