The Low-Down: Walmart and Kroger Raise At-Home Rapid Test Prices

Not likely to become a case study in positive reputation management. JL

Sharon Terlep reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Walmart and Kroger are raising their prices for BinaxNOW at-home rapid tests, after the expiration of a deal with the White House to sell the test kits at cost for $14. (These are) the cheapest and most popular at-home Covid-19 test kits in the U.S. At retail, the tests cost $24 or more for a box with two tests. Walmart and Kroger said they fulfilled their commitment to sell tests at cost for three months. Even at the higher prices, tests are difficult to find. BinaxNOW is sold out on many major retailers’ websites or takes more than a week to arrive.
Prices are going up for some of the cheapest and most popular at-home Covid-19 test kits in the U.S.
Walmart Inc. WMT 1.35% and Kroger Co. KR 1.39% are raising their prices for BinaxNOW at-home rapid tests, after the expiration of a deal with the White House to sell the test kits at cost for $14.
The two U.S. retail giants and Amazon.com Inc. agreed with the Biden administration last summer to discount the tests, which are made by Abbott Laboratories ABT -0.45% and generally cost $24 or more for a box with two tests.
Abbott Laboratories’ FDA-approved BinaxNOW kit is among the most commonly used rapid Covid-19 antigen tests in the U.S.
PHOTO: PAUL HENNESSY/ZUMA PRESS
BinaxNOW, approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, is among the most commonly used over-the-counter, rapid antigen tests, which have been in high demand as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads across the U.S.
The deal with the White House expired in December, and Walmart said this week that it is raising the kits’ price to $19.98 a box. Kroger now sells them for $23.99. The BinaxNOW tests aren’t currently available on Amazon.
Representatives for Walmart and Kroger said they fulfilled their commitment to sell tests at cost for three months and are taking steps to make tests more available.

On Wednesday, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki declined to say whether the administration made any effort to extend the price agreement. “I’m not going to get into details of our private conversations with these providers,” she said at a press briefing. “Our focus is, of course, ensuring that we are increasing access and access to free tests to people across the country.”
An Amazon spokeswoman said the company is working with suppliers to alleviate shortages. She said Amazon made a large investment to develop its own FDA approved PCR test, which sells for $39.99, lower than most similar tests. The effort, she said, involved setting up an in-house laboratory to process results.
Pharmacy chains CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots-Alliance Inc., along with other big retailers, have been selling the tests for $23.99 a box. Other retailers already are charging even more.
Even at the higher prices, tests are difficult to find. BinaxNOW is sold out on many major retailers’ websites or takes more than a week to arrive. A Walmart spokeswoman said the BinaxNOW tests are more readily available in physical stores.
Abbott said it is running plants around the clock, seven days a week to pump out 70 million tests a month. “Despite rising U.S. material and labor costs, we have not passed along any of these costs to our customers and the price at retail has not changed since we launched the test,” the company said.
Covid-19 tests—both at-home kits and those done on location in clinics or at drugstores—remain costly and difficult to find in many places as the Omicron-driven surge pushes many Americans to seek out the diagnostic tools. The Biden administration has said it is working to expand access to free testing and has pledged to distribute 500 million free at-home tests. Some cities and states have established similar programs.
The White House said last month that it would begin delivering at-home tests in January and that they would be available to the public free by mail through a new website. Officials haven’t provided details of the plans to mail out tests or to cover the costs of testing.
Kroger now sells BinaxNOW Covid-19 test kits for $23.99 a box.
PHOTO: BARRETT LAWLIS/EAGLE-GAZETTE/USA TODAY NETWOR/REUTERS
The cost and availability of tests varies widely. BinaxNOW tests are hard to find online for $24 but can be purchased for twice the price. At-home PCR tests are more readily available but generally cost close to $100 for a single test. Other rapid tests approved by the FDA for home use include the Ellume Covid-19 Home Test and the QuickVue test made by Quidel.
Free testing is generally offered at medical and community clinics and at retail pharmacies. In places where demand for testing is especially high, people face hours-long lines or scarce appointment slots. How much people pay for in-person tests varies based on a number of factors including whether a person is insured, if they are symptomatic and how quickly they want results.
“When the prices are that high, people will rationalize not using a kit. They’ll wait until they’re sick or need it for school or something,” said Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist and health economist and a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Federation of American Scientists. “The problem with this pricing, besides creating a lack of access, is that it creates a perverse incentive for people not to use them.”
The tests need to be free or cost closer to $1, as is the case in much of Europe, to be an effective tool, Dr. Feigl-Ding said. That is because people who have few or no symptoms can still spread the virus.