As we welcome everyone back for a new semester, we want to provide tools and resources that help ensure the continued health and safety of employees and their families. Effective Saturday, January 15, covered members of UVM’s employee medical plan may obtain over-the-counter rapid COVID tests and have costs covered by UVM. “Covered member” includes both employees who participate in the UVM medical plan and their dependents on the plan. (Employees who are not covered by UVM's employee medical plan should contact their health insurance provider for information about coverage of COVID rapid tests.) 

There are several ways for members of UVM's employee medical plan to obtain these tests:   

  • Over-the-counter rapid COVID tests can be purchased at a pharmacy that is in the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont (BCBSVT) network with no out-of-pocket cost to the covered member.
  • Tests can be purchased over the counter or online at other non-network pharmacies or retail outlets. For non-network purchases, members must pay the full cost and then submit a claim for reimbursement to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont. This can be done through the BCBS reimbursement portal (Member Medical Claim Form). UVM will provide detailed instructions for doing so in a separate FAQ, which will be posted soon on the Human Resource Services website. We recommend submitting reimbursement requests on a monthly basis. Please note that for out-of-network purchases, the maximum reimbursement is up to $12 per test.

Each covered member enrolled in UVM’s medical plan for active employees can receive up to eight tests in a 30-day period. For example, an employee, spouse and child on the same medical plan can get up to eight tests each (up to 24 tests total) in a 30-day period. Please note that UVM will only cover the cost of over-the-counter COVID rapid tests for employees on the UVM medical plan and their dependents.

The quality and accuracy of available over-the-counter COVID rapid tests can vary greatly, and the federal government has authorized numerous test brands for at-home rapid COVID testing. UVM’s health insurance plan will cover tests that have Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The following tests have EUA from the FDA, making them eligible for coverage under our medical plan.

Manufacturer: Test Name(s)

Abbott Diagnostics Scarborough, Inc.:

BinaxNOW COVID-19 Antigen Self-Test and Ag Card Home Tests

Access Bio, Inc.: CareStart COVID-19 Antigen Home Test:

ACON Laboratories, Inc.: Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test

Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD):

BD Veritor At-Home COVID-19 Test

Celltrion USA, Inc.:

Celltrion DiaTrust COVID-19 Ag Home Test

Cue Health Inc.:

Cue COVID-19 Test for Home and Over the Counter (OTC) Use

Detect, Inc.:

Detect Covid-19 Test

Ellume Limited:

Ellume COVID-19 Home Test

iHealth Labs, Inc.:

iHealth COVID-19 Antigen Rapid

InBios International Inc.: unnamed

Lucira Health, Inc:

Lucira CHECK-IT COVID-19 Test Kit, Lucira COVID-19 All-In-One

OraSure Technologies, Inc.:

InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test, InteliSwab COVID-19 Rapid Test Rx

Quidel Corporation:

QuickVue At-Home OTC COVID-19 Test, QuickVue At-Home COVID-19 Test

There are also several state and federal government programs offering free tests, and we encourage employees to explore all of these offerings to obtain free tests for themselves and their families. As always, UVM’s COVID Test Center remains available to all employees for unlimited testing on campus. If you work on campus, we hope you will consider using this resource to test regularly.

As always, we are working to have our insurance plan effectively and efficiently meet the healthcare needs of our employees and their families, while constraining costs for both covered members and the University. Coverage of over-the-counter COVID rapid tests is intended to address the unique circumstances of the recent surge in cases, and may not be a permanent benefit. If or when the University ends coverage of these tests, we will provide at least thirty days’ notice to employees.
 
If you have any questions, or if there is additional information that you would find helpful as you navigate the continued challenges that COVID presents to our community, please feel free to contact HRSInfo@UVM.edu or call (802)656-3150.