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Walgreens changing travel Covid testing?

DaveOKC

By DaveOKC,
in Holland America Line

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DaveOKC

DaveOKC

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I was just visiting with my pharmacist at the local Walgreens here in Oklahoma City.  He told me that effect today, June 30, that they are now charging (about $120) for Covid tests for travel.  He did say that some insurances may still cover it, but due to changes by the US government their free testing has been discontinued!

 

Has anyone else heard of this?  If true, there are going to be lot of upset people going forward.  Hopefully this will cause the cruiselines to drop the testing requirement.

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2inSETexas

2inSETexas

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Posted (edited)
3 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

I was just visiting with my pharmacist at the local Walgreens here in Oklahoma City.  He told me that effect today, June 30, that they are now charging (about $120) for Covid tests for travel.  He did say that some insurances may still cover it, but due to changes by the US government their free testing has been discontinued!

 

Has anyone else heard of this?  If true, there are going to be lot of upset people going forward.  Hopefully this will cause the cruiselines to drop the testing requirement.

CVS has already made this change, so I am not surprised. The cruise industry is about the only travel sector business that is still required by the government to test https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/cruise-travel-during-covid19.html

Edited by 2inSETexas
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Kamfish642

Kamfish642

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Need to check with your health insurance company for specifics as far as whether they will cover, but most still allow for a certain number of COVID tests per year.  I know that our local Walgreens and CVS are no longer providing rapid-antigen testing at drive thru, only PCR (results in 2 days) or NAAT (results in 2 hours).

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Florida_gal_50

Florida_gal_50

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I guess it's not a big issue to me because as a Canadian I've had to be tested multiple times coming, going etc.  I look on it as part of the price of cruising. The only way I know of to get a free test in my neck of the woods is for medical reasons. Is it really that much of an expense compared to the price if cruise?  That said I pay a hefty price for my cruises. No freebies here.

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PROCRUISE

PROCRUISE

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CVS is doing the same, due to "governmental rule changes." The sooner the cruise lines take a stand and stop the requirement of pre-testing, the better for their own booking numbers. Luckily, I do Hospice visitations and vigils so I simply place that as the reason for testing. Not cruising again until December so hopefully no pre-testing required by then but, who knows.

Edited by PROCRUISE
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The-Inside-Cabin Great Review Rare

The-Inside-Cabin

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14 minutes ago, BroncoBobblehead said:

A telehealth proctored home test (using a test provided free by the US government) is just $15. No reason to mess with Walgreens, CVS, or anybody else at this point!

Thanks for the tip - HERE is the link - glad to have more options.   California is doing free tests for residents at various locations across the state.  More HERE

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PACD_JG

PACD_JG

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29 minutes ago, BroncoBobblehead said:

A telehealth proctored home test (using a test provided free by the US government) is just $15. No reason to mess with Walgreens, CVS, or anybody else at this point!

But Walgreens was free.  Didn’t realize $15 and free were the same thing.  And that’s per person…so for a family of four it’s $60.  Last time I studied math, four times zero equals free.

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BroncoBobblehead

BroncoBobblehead

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3 minutes ago, PACD_JG said:

But Walgreens was free.  Didn’t realize $15 and free were the same thing.  And that’s per person…so for a family of four it’s $60.  Last time I studied math, four times zero equals free.

I'm talking about the $150 they're gonna charge now. And yeah, it's not free but as @Florida_gal_50 said, compared to what you're spending for the cruise, it's nothing. Sure, I wish it wasn't required at all, but unfortunately the options are wait to cruise, or find the cheapest options available so that's what I was trying to do.

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Gail & Marty sailing away Holiday Sharing Rare

Gail & Marty sailing away

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Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, The-Inside-Cabin said:

Thanks for the tip - HERE is the link - glad to have more options.   California is doing free tests for residents at various locations across the state.  More HERE

Will the Free ones from BinaxNow Antigen self test work with Video Monitoring??

Edited by Gail & Marty sailing away
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Nickelpenny Holiday Sharing Rare

Nickelpenny

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4 hours ago, BroncoBobblehead said:

A telehealth proctored home test (using a test provided free by the US government) is just $15. No reason to mess with Walgreens, CVS, or anybody else at this point!

And if you have an HSA you can pay for it that way. (I did)

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cameronp12

cameronp12

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Walgreens is charging for tests for travel but couldn’t you just put on the website when making the appointment that you had an exposure instead of doing it for travel, then they would run it through your insurance and it would be free? 
 

As far as I know, the results page you get after the test doesn’t specify for travel or not. 
 

However, I used the eMed proctored test for my cruise this past month and it worked really well. Didn’t have time for the Walgreens appointment and didn’t mind paying for the convenience.

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Florida_gal_50

Florida_gal_50

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1 hour ago, cameronp12 said:

Walgreens is charging for tests for travel but couldn’t you just put on the website when making the appointment that you had an exposure instead of doing it for travel, then they would run it through your insurance and it would be free? 
 

As far as I know, the results page you get after the test doesn’t specify for travel or not. 
 

However, I used the eMed proctored test for my cruise this past month and it worked really well. Didn’t have time for the Walgreens appointment and didn’t mind paying for the convenience.

To me it seems so shady to do that to save a buck.  Why not save it for people that are actually sick?

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cameronp12

cameronp12

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1 hour ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

To me it seems so shady to do that to save a buck.  Why not save it for people that are actually sick?

Fair, but whether you’re paying for the test or having your insurance company pay for it, you’re still taking it. I don’t believe we have a shortage of tests right now. I know I can grab the take home ones from my work anytime I want.

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DENIE Holiday Sharing Rare

DENIE

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That is way too much money!  We just got back from the Mediterranean, and a regular pharmacy next to our hotel in Rome charged 15 Euro and had the results in 20 minutes.  No Covid test should cost $120 - I'm a health care fraud investigator, and that is not an acceptable charge. At this point, the proctored exams that some cruise lines are contracting with seem the best way to go.

Edited by DENIE
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