Question: My son ordered me the free COVID-19 tests online and they arrived in the mail as promised. You only get four tests though, so he said he would buy more at the drugstore and my insurance has to cover it. Is that true?

Answer: Not in your case, because your health insurance is Original Medicare, which “at this time” does not pay for over-the-counter, at-home COVID-19 tests through a federal program that began Jan. 15, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Under the federal program, most other insurance plans must cover eight at-home COVID-19 tests per month (up to $12 per test), per covered individual. So an insured family of four, for example, could get 32 tests per month, according to a White House fact sheet.

However, CMS says Original Medicare can’t pay for self-administered, at-home COVID-19 tests, which don’t require a prescription. The agency reportedly is trying to overcome this restriction, but there was no update as of deadline. Original Medicare does cover COVID-19 diagnostic tests processed in a lab, with no co-pay if the test was ordered by an authorized health care professional, CMS says.

A different type of Medicare, called Medicare Advantage, includes some health plans that cover over-the-counter COVID- 19 tests through the federal program. People with Medicare Advantage should check with their plan, as coverage varies, CMS says.

Medicare is the federal health insurance program that mainly covers people 65 and older. About 60% of the people on Medicare have the original version.

Any residential address that has not ordered four free COVID-19 tests online may do so, at covidtests.gov.

Q: Does Safe Access O‘ahu apply to barber shops and beauty salons?

A: No, not specifically. Safe Access O‘ahu, which requires customers of certain businesses to show ID and proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test, focuses on restaurants, bars and gyms. “Indoor fitness facilities (including facilities holding group fitness classes, dance classes, and similar activities), and all businesses/operations offering or allowing food and/or drinks for on-premises consumption must implement and comply with Order 10 (Safe Access O‘ahu),” according to Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s Emergency Order No. 2022-01, which you can read at 808ne.ws/emord.

Barber shops and beauty salons do have to follow other parts of the mayor’s order, such as the requirement that customers wear face masks (Order 5).

Auwe

Auwe to a military convoy driver! On Jan. 24 at about 12:25 p.m., we were traveling in our car northbound on the H2 freeway about a mile past Ka Uka Boulevard. We were in the second lane from the right. Cars were traveling below the speed limit because there was a convoy of military vehicles in the far right lane. The convoy stayed in that lane, except for one vehicle that changed into our lane, pulling in front of the compact car ahead of us. Since the military vehicle was traveling more slowly than the flow of traffic, the car in front of us braked and we braked to avoid hitting that car. A pickup truck behind us did not brake and struck our car, damaging both vehicles. The military convoy continued on. Auwe to the military vehicle driver’s poor choice to change lanes. — V.M.

Mahalo

I want to acknowledge the kindness of a woman named Lori. After picking up takeout food at Waipio Shopping Center on Jan. 25 around 11:45 a.m., I pulled my car keys out of my pocket and my black wallet must have fallen onto the pavement without me realizing it was gone — until I got a phone call a half-hour later asking me to identify its contents. Thankfully, this kind woman arranged to meet me close by and returned everything to me, without even accepting a reward. Lori, you have really reinforced how aloha and goodwill are still alive on Oahu. — Mahalo plenty, Mr. D.A.

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.