This post was updated Oct. 9 at 1:28 p.m.
UCLA will now offer free COVID-19 tests to all students starting next week, a UCLA student health official confirmed.
The Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center previously charged between $65 to $105 for COVID-19 diagnostic tests, unless the student had the University of California Student Health Insurance Plan and a physician deemed the test medically necessary. The costs varied based on which lab the Ashe Center used to process the test.
However, starting next week, COVID-19 tests will be free for all students regardless of if they have UC SHIP or not, said John Bollard, the interim co-executive director of student health services.
Students without symptoms are also eligible for free testing, Bollard added.
The change in cost does not apply to antibody tests – which will still cost $47 – but the Ashe Center does not perform many antibody tests, Bollard said.
Students can also get free antibody tests from the UCLA Blood and Platelet Center if they donate blood.
Bollard said in a subsequent emailed statement that the Ashe Center lowered the cost to remove obstacles to testing and avoid confusion.
The free tests, Bollard said, will be self-administered nasal swab tests, which the university has used for testing university housing residents and on campus.
Bollard said the Ashe Center has several labs available to process COVID-19 tests, but did not specify the names of the labs. Bollard also declined to answer how much money each test costs the university – UCLA agreed to keep costs confidential, he said.
Contributing reports from Genesis Qu, Campus politics editor.
