The county will be billed directly by local health care providers through the system, according to a May 14 release.
The voucher covers FDA-approved COVID-19 testing—nasal or oral—and medical evaluation at an office or drive-thru visit, the release said. Prescriptions are not covered through this program.
PrimaCare Urgent Care and CommunityMed Urgent Care have agreed to accept the voucher as of May 14. PrimaCare has curbside testing available in McKinney, Plano and Richardson. CommunityMed Urgent Care has locations in Prosper, Princeton and Melissa with swab testing available.
Residents are encouraged to call other providers to see if they will accept them as well, the release said. If a resident chooses to go to a testing site outside of Collin County with their voucher, it would require prior agreement from their provider and a form of proof of residency at the time of testing or evaluation, according to the county.
Applications for the voucher program, as well as FAQs for both the general public and doctors and clinics, can be found on the newly created Collin CARES webpage. Those without printers or online access can contact a testing provider to ask if they can have the form available to fill out at the office.
The program applies only to Collin County residents without insurance but does apply to all ages that are uninsured.
The funding for the voucher system comes from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. The county is dedicating $3 million of the $171 million in federal aid to the vouchers, as previously reported by Community Impact Newspaper.
A full list of testing sites created by the state is available here. Those with insurance or who are underinsured can contact their insurance provider for more information on waived deductibles for COVID-19 testing.
