With free COVID tests ending elsewhere, there is one option

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - There are a lot of places you can still get a covid test. But what was once free may be costly now, well over $100 if you’re not careful. You can still buy a rapid covid test from grocery stores and pharmacies for 10 or 20 dollars and test yourself at home. But the federal subsidies that helped clinics and pharmacies cut their costs have ended too.

Katherine Wells, Director of the Lubbock Health Department, explains, “So a lot of these clinics are either charging an out-of-pocket cost or they will run possibly that test through your insurance.”

The out-of-pocket cost for a covid test at CVS or Walgreens is around $130. But if a pharmacy or clinic runs that test through your insurance, it could end up costing you a lot more. The advantage is you’ll get the results in minutes.

So, here’s what you need to know to avoid paying a lot for a covid test after Friday. There is only one place in Lubbock that will continue to offer FREE covid tests, that’s the Community Health Center of Lubbock. The downside is you’ll have to wait for the results.

Katherine says, “We’re offering free PCR testing to the community. This is the same testing that we’ve been offering on and off over the last two years. It’s not a rapid test. So you go in and get tested, and it’ll be 24 to 48 hours before you get your results.”

This free Covid testing is a swab test and is only available at the Community Health Center location at 1610 5th street from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Monday through Friday.

Katherine says, “You’re gonna go up, pull into a designated parking spit spot at that location, you’ll call the phone number and a lab technician will come out and conduct the swab.”

The government will stop mailing free tests on Friday, September 2, so you still have time to order several free tests at COVID.GOV. No free COVID test will be offered after Friday.

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