Skilled Nursing Facilities, intermediate care facilities (ICFs) and assisted living centers can access free COVID-19 testing for staff and residents through December 31, 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Operation Expanded Testing (OpET) program expanded access to free testing nationwide to now include skilled nursing facilities, ICFs and assisted living communities, which previously targeted schools, shelters, and correctional facilities.
Testing under OpET is available at no-cost to providers and can be used on staff or residents. You can receive up to a four-week supply at a time, and there is no cap on the number of tests that can be used in this program.
How it Works:
OpET coordinates with four regional coordination hubs to provide pooled PCR tests (i.e., laboratory-based Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests [
NAAT]), with specimen collection supplies, shipping materials, laboratory testing, and results reporting. The provider must contribute staff to collect specimens.
How to Enroll:
- Identify your facility’s region and coordination hub.
- Visit your regional coordination hub’s website.
- Hub 1 – West: Alaska, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Marshall Islands, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Palau, and Washington
- Hub 2 – Midwest: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming
- Hub 3 – Northeast: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, U.S. Virgin Islands, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West Virginia
- Hub 4 – South: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas
- Enroll your assisted living community.
Visit the Operation Expanded Testing
website to learn more.