“No longer supported”: rapid Covid-19 screening tests will no longer be reimbursed

La prise en charge des tests qui détectent les angines est maintenue. ENVATO ELEMENTS – Daria_Nipot

Les tests de dépistage rapide du Covid-19 réalisés en pharmacie ne seront plus pris en charge par l'Assurance maladie.

The government plans to no longer reimburse rapid Covid-19 screening tests carried out in pharmacies, but to continue to cover tests that detect tonsillitis, the Directorate General of Health told AFP.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

“Pharmacists will be able to continue to carry out Trod (rapid diagnostic orientation tests, Editor's note) Covid in pharmacies, as well as provide self-tests, at the request of patients, but the latter will no longer be covered by Health Insurance”, the Directorate General of Health (DGS) indicated in a message sent to AFP.

A medical prescription required for reimbursement

On the other hand, rapid tests that verify the bacterial nature or viral tonsillitis, carried out in pharmacies “have been covered since June 2024 and remain so”, adds the DGS.

“Unlike Covid-19 screening tests, they allow the pharmacy to be informed of the prescription of an antibiotic and as such contribute to measures for the proper use of antibiotics and the fight against antibiotic resistance”, underlines this entity of the Ministry of Health.

For vulnerable people at risk of developing a serious form, such as the elderly or those with long-term illnesses, “the use of a Covid-19 RT-PCR test is recommended, to confirm the virus in question” but “a medical prescription is necessary in this case to allow reimbursement”.

When ?

These changes “will only come into effect after the epidemic period we are currently in”, with in particular, a high circulation of influenza this winter.

The Covid-19 antigen tests are the only Trod for acute respiratory infections currently reimbursed (16.50 euros), and with them the combined Covid/flu and Covid/RSV tests, the virus that causes bronchiolitis.

The Trods complement RT-PCR tests to detect a Covid-19 infection.

In May 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) had declared the end of Covid-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.