Each household in the U.S. can now have four free COVID-19 at-home tests shipped directly to their home at no cost. All you need to do is visit COVIDtests.gov and enter your contact information and mailing address.

The tests are rapid antigen “at-home” or “self” tests — not PCR tests, which require a lab drop-off. The “at-home” or “self” tests can be taken anywhere and give results within 30 minutes.

Guard against scammers trying to steal your personal information. When ordering tests, use the official, secure government website: https://www.COVIDtests.gov. Watch out for phone scammers, too. If you get a phone call requesting information so that free at-home tests can be mailed to you, hang up — it’s a scam.

Medicare coverage

Medicare pays for COVID-19 tests performed by a lab, such as PCR or antigen/rapid tests, at no cost to you when the test is ordered by an authorized health care professional.