Indiana is expected to add another 95 COVID-19 testing sites in the next few weeks. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box announced Wednesday that her department is using CARES Act funding to provide grants to help local health departments boost testing efforts.
“These funds will support supplies, technology, equipment, PPE, and other costs,” Box explained during Wednesday’s press conference. “More than a dozen sites opened last week, and 22 others are scheduled to open by the end of the week. The remainder are set to be up and running by the beginning of the month.”
Marshall, LaPorte, St. Joseph, and Fulton counties are among those getting testing sites, according to a map from the Indiana State Department of Health. The Marshall County Health Department says testing sites at the LifePlex Medical Center in Plymouth and HealthLinc in Knox are set to be part of the program. These sites are in addition to the state-sponsored OptumServe sites.
Box said testing at the new sites will be free, at least for now. “Eventually, the goal will be to run that through insurance companies because a lot of people are insured,” Box said. “But we will not be turning away anyone that is uninsured or does not have the ability to pay for a test because that’s very critical going forward.”
The Indiana State Department of Health is distributing a total of $30 million to help local departments operate testing sites for the next two years.
