The White House gets testy over its coronavirus testing regime

For much her tenure as White House press secretary, Jen Psaki has gained fans in Democratic circles for her combative responses to questions they see as slanted (and often are), with her jousting partner often being Fox News.

But Psaki on Monday deployed some exasperated sarcasm at an odd – and perhaps revealing – time.

NPR’s Mara Liasson pressed Psaki on the continued hurdles Americans face in getting rapid, at-home coronavirus tests. The administration recently announced people with private health insurance would be reimbursed for the tests, which often cost between $20 and $30 for a pair.

“That’s kind of complicated, though,” Liasson noted. “Why not just make them free and give them out to – and have them available everywhere?”

Psaki shot back sarcastically: “Should we just send one to every American?”

After Liasson suggested that maybe this was actually a good idea, Psaki responded, “Then what happens if you – if every American has one test? How much does that cost, and then what happens after that?”

It was a very defensive answer. Part of the reason for it might have been Psaki’s recent history with Liasson, which included another tense exchange just last week on Biden’s tax plan. But it also seemed to betray what the White House has to know remains a problem in what President Joe Biden promised would be a much steadier, more robust pandemic response than we saw under President Donald Trump.

As plenty noted after the exchange, it’s not like sending free tests to everyone is some unthinkable idea. The United Kingdom allows people to mail-order seven tests at a time, free of charge. Singapore has sent not one but six free rapid tests to every household.

Other countries have also made rapid tests significantly more accessible and cheaper than they have been here. To wit:

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–Germany deployed widespread, free pop-up testing as early as March (though it has recently ended the practice in an effort to get more people vaccinated)

–At-home tests still cost only a few dollars or less in Germany, as well as other countries like France, Belgium and India.

–Canada has sent free rapid tests to businesses.

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As anyone who has sought rapid testing for themselves or a loved one in recent weeks can probably attest, the hurdles here remain much more significant than in many – though not all – comparable countries. When one needs to shell out $10 to $15 for a given test and might want or need to repeat the test or test multiple family members, the cost can quickly add up. And that’s if you can find the tests in the first place, which has also been an obstacle.

A logical consequence is that people who might otherwise conduct at-home tests could opt against it and proceed not knowing if they might have tested positive for the virus.

There are many reasons the reality of rapid testing elsewhere hasn’t become reality here, as The Washington Post and ProPublica have detailed. Psaki pointed to some perhaps-valid ones on Monday, including the relatively few rapid at-home tests that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration