The rule on reimbursement will benefit some 150 million Americans
who have private health insurance, a senior administration official
told reporters ahead of Biden's announcement.
Government agencies including the Health and Human Services
Department, Labor Department and Treasury Department will issue
guidance on the issue by January 15, the White House said.
The rule will not apply retroactively and does not cover people on
public health insurance plans, the official said. The administration
plans to distribute 50 million tests to rural clinics and testing
sites to help cover those who do not have private insurance and
those who do not have insurance at all.
Biden plans to visit the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on
Thursday and outline his administration's strategy to fight the
pandemic over the winter by bolstering efforts to encourage
Americans to get COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, including steps to
expand availability at pharmacies.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Dec/02/images/ads/current/graue_21CAMARO_100421.png)
The efforts to expand testing come as the country and the world face
new threats from the COVID-19 Omicron variant. Fears about the
variant have pounded financial markets and created doubts about the
speed of the global economic recovery as the pandemic rages on.
More than 775,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United
States alone, with vaccine hesitancy among a large chunk of the U.S.
population thwarting Biden's attempts to halt the virus's spread.
[to top of second column] |
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Dec/02/images/ads/current/eaton_lda_HFH_2021.png) The White House's winter plan also touches on
travel.
By early next week the United States will
require inbound international travelers to be
tested for COVID-19 within one day of departure,
regardless of vaccination status. Mask
requirements on airplanes, trains and public
transportation vehicles will be extended to
March 18. [ID:nL1N2SM3FR
Biden also will press companies to require
employees to be vaccinated or tested regularly
despite legal setbacks to his efforts to force
employers to do so.
"The president will call on businesses to move
forward expeditiously with requiring their
workers to get vaccinated or tested weekly. This
is especially important given the Omicron
variant," the White House said in a statement.
In early November a federal appeals court
temporarily blocked Biden's workplace
vaccine-or-testing mandate for businesses with
at least 100 employees.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Shri
Navaratnam)
[© 2021 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2021 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Dec/02/images/ads/current/rohlfs_lda_072017.png) |