Walmart Inc. and Kroger Co. are boosting the price of a popular at-home COVID-19 test after a deal with the White House to sell the kits at cost expired.
The price of BinaxNOW tests at Walmart is rising to $19.88 this week from $14, the company said in an email Tuesday. Kroger said it reinstated “retail pricing” after completing the three-month commitment to President Joe Biden’s administration.
Walmart said it retained the lower price during the holidays even after the expiration of the deal with the White House. That agreement also extended to Amazon.com Inc., which didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc., which weren’t parties to the deal with Biden, have been charging $23.99 for the Binax tests, which are made by Abbott Laboratories.
COVID-19 tests have been hard to find in the U.S. amid a surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant. Out-of-stock messages are common on retail websites and in stores for all tests.
—With assistance from Spencer Soper.