As we head into the fall respiratory virus season, AHCA/NCAL is reminding providers about the availability of free COVID-19 tests through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Abbott BinaxNOW Test Kit Program. Skilled nursing facilities and assisted living communities continue to receive or are eligible to receive free monthly shipments of Abbott BinaxNOW over-the-counter (OTC) COVID-19 test kits. We anticipate this program will continue through the fall of 2025. Facilities and communities must have an active CLIA waiver to be eligible to participate in this program.
Shipments can be started and stopped, and test quantities can be increased or decreased by emailing
TDX@hhs.gov. The email must include:
- Name of the facility
- Facility address
- CLIA waiver number
- Request (stop, start, increase, decrease)
Please note that it may take a week or two to update the shipping information.
If you have an influx of test kits and aren’t sure how to use them, keep in mind that since the tests are OTC, you can provide them to visitors, staff, or residents for their personal use as well. The exact expiration dates for the tests can be found on the
FDA website.
For questions related to the HHS BinaxNOW Distribution Program, please email
TDX@hhs.gov.