Hmmm…so one could stock up before the public health emergency ends on May 10 by going to different pharmacies and therefore getting more than 8/month.
Apparently the retail pharmacies will stick to a 30 day refill schedule. So H can get #8 tests handed to him at the local Walgreens every 30 days. Haven’t tried sending him to the CVS across the street to try for #8 more in less than 30 days.
Not sure how Medicare approved online retailers manage this if the insured places the order.
But, given that Medicare showed a claim processed 3-4 days prior to H being handed his Walgreens supplied tests without issue…I’m sure there’s a way to stock up by using different providers.
You could call Medicare and ask.
Just discovered my THIRD fraudulent Medicare claim for Covid tests when I checked my Medicare account online. I’ve reported all three to Medicare, FTC and OIG. I guess my next step is to request a new Medicare number. This is ridiculous.
I got a followup call from a Medicare investigator. She said if anyone I know wants to make a complaint, they can call her personally. You can send me a private message and I will give you her contact info. It will need to be a user I recognize, because she doesn’t want scammers getting hold of her number.
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Well, I had a total of SEVEN fraudulent claims for Covid tests. Finally had to request a new Medicare number. I reported each claim and Medicare took down the provider info each time, but they continued to pay the claims when those providers filed again. How is it not possible to flag my account after I report fraud so that the next claim for that provider isn’t denied?
Oh, and to make matters worse, Medicare denied one of the 7 claims for some unknown reason but they sent it on to my secondary insurance, who PAID it! 
I have a fried whose husband has received un requested COVID tests three months in a row. I told her about this scam, and strongly suggested they check their Medicare account…because there is a fraud issue. Her husband told her that he heard that the government was sending free tests monthly to all Medicare recipients…unrequested…which is BS. I told her to check but she says her husband flatly refused.
I guess you can lead a horse to water….
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I received a phone call from someone letting me know DH (scammer called him by his Medicare name which isn’t used anywhere else except birth certificate and SSN) was entitled to free COVID tests. I let them know they’ve been reported to Medicare…strangely…the line went silent.
Guess since they couldn’t run more tests under DH’s medicare number (since that was changed)…they’d try the old school phone method.
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We would go early in the month to pick up our free via Medicare covid test kits from local pharmacies so never had any sent to us unsolicited. It probably would not have been approved if a fraudster tried because we got our limit of 8 kits each.
Since the program for getting Medicare paid for at home free test kits ended on 5/11/2023, this particular fraud of sending test kits reimbursed by Medicare that weren’t ordered SHOULD end.
DH always went to Walgreens to get his Medicare covered #8/month. This was the legal side of things. The tests that arrived in the mail arrived in spite of the valid Walgreens ones having already been issued and paid for by Medicare. So Medicare paid for #16 test for two months.
And I don’t think the fraud is over. I received a call just a few days ago (well past May 11th) where the caller informed me 'you are entitled to free COVID tests paid for by Medicare). I had a few choice words for that caller - they hung up.
Yikes—that’s awful. Hope the fraudsters are caught and sentenced and have to pay huge fines.
I heard the pharmacist tell the Walgreen’s pharmacy clerk that a Medicare recipient can get 8 free tests every 28 days.
I’d already gotten my 8 free tests for the month from one pharmacy, but while in a different pharmacy the same month to get an RX for my H, I got his 8 free tests at that time. The clerk asked if I’d gotten my 8 for the month yet, and when I said I didn’t remember (thinking of this thread to see what would happen), they ran my Medicare card through and said I could get 8 free tests, too.
So Medicare did apparently give the retail pharmacies the authority to manage this.