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Americans will soon be able to get reimbursed by their insurance companies for the purchase of at-home COVID-19 tests.

Starting Saturday, insurance companies will reimburse you for purchasing an at-home test, up to eight a month. A family of two on insurance would be able to buy 16 tests in a month.

Individuals will likely have to log onto their health insurance companies’ websites to file a claim, per media sources.

We think this is a big step forward, considering at-home tests have become easier to find and serve as a way to avoid an unnecessary doctor’s appointment. With Omciron, many are experiencing mild symptoms — very comparable to cold symptoms — but that doesn’t mean you want to go to the doctor every time you have a sniffle or sneeze. However, you might want to ensure you are tested if you’re about to go see your grandparents, parents or other friends or family members who could be more susceptible to a bad cause of COVID-19.

We also urge you not to go buy at-home COVID-19 tests unless you definitely need them.

We know a few weeks ago we only found one store with the at-home tests in stock, and they were going very quickly. If you need a few to put away for those “just in case” times, then sure, go for it.

But don’t go overboard when we know others need the tests.

Some experts believe we might’ve seen the worst of Omicron (meaning we are at or past the peak), but it’s hard to say.  Hopefully, that’s the case.

But we know for sure that one way to prevent the spread is to test people with symptoms regularly, and it’s going to help considerably that insurance companies are paying for tests.