The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the social barriers that keep Black, Latino, and other marginalized communities from accessing vital lab testing services. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has played a leading role in kicking through these barriers and promoting equitable access via the Increasing Community Access to Testing (ICATT) program, which provides free COVID-19 testing for high-risk populations in underserved communities across the nation. In July, ICATT took a major stride forward by enlisting two of the country’s leading COVID-19 PCR test providers: Quest Diagnostics and Color Health.

The ICATT Program

ICATT participants include over 15,000 testing sites in all 50 states, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico. ICATT centers provide testing for the uninsured, but also bills tests to Medicare, Medicaid, and private health insurers. The program selects testing sites based on the Rural-Urban Commuting Areas and Social Vulnerability indexes with the aim of maximizing access in areas of high social vulnerability.

ICATT partners schedule appointments, register patients for testing, collect patient specimens, process tests, and report test results to individuals and public health departments. Offered COVID-19 tests vary by site but include both PCR and rapid point-of-care assays, including at-home test kits.

Quest Joins ICATT

On July 7, one of the nation’s largest lab companies, Quest Diagnostics, joined the ICATT effort by agreeing to provide $0 out-of-pocket COVID-19 testing to uninsured individuals at roughly 1,200 of its 2,100 patient service centers. Those seeking free tests will have to fill out a screening questionnaire on the company’s QuestDirect service. Those who qualify will then be instructed to schedule an appointment at one of the 1,200 participating test centers. “Through this relationship with CDC, Quest will extend access to our COVID-19 diagnostic services in underserved communities, helping to close equity gaps in the nation's pandemic response,” Ruth Clements, Quest vice president and general manager of infectious disease and immunology, said in a statement.

ICATT Adds Color Health

The day after the Quest announcement, Color Health stated that it would also offer free COVID-19 PCR testing under the ICATT program. Most of the nearly 1,000 Color testing sites will be in public libraries and pharmacies located in rural areas. As per ICATT protocols, the emphasis will be on testing people at high risk of severe COVID-19 who are under- or uninsured. Many of the sites will be unmonitored, with free kits offered for individuals to pick up, perform nasal swabs themselves, and drop off samples.

This is hardly Color’s first effort to support community COVID-19 testing and public health ventures. Based in Burlingame, California, the firm has COVID-19 testing partnerships with San Francisco, the state of California, and the National Institutes of Health, among other institutions. It has also partnered with Thermo Fisher Scientific to provide COVID-19 testing to school districts nationwide.

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Here’s a summary of some of other key strategic diagnostic deals announced in July 2022:

Strategic Alliances, Partnerships, & Collaborations

Distribution, Sales, & Marketing Agreements

Licenses

Government Contracts