Are covid tests free in the U.S.?

It may vary state to state. My cousin in NYC got a free test and was not even sick. It seems hard to believe that people would be turned away.

That sounds a little strange. They would not refuse them a test. If they weren’t free you would get a bill.

Some places yes, some no. It really depends where you are. MY county has been doing them for no cost.

I know there are free tests available where I live, but I don’t know if all test sights are free.

Maybe hospitals aren’t doing them unless you actually become a patient either ER or inpatient? Just guessing.

Where I live/work, they will bill our insurance and accept that payment without asking for a co-pay or deductible.

This definitely varies from state to state. Thanks to the (complete lack of) leadership at the Federal level to produce tests and administer them in the most useful ways (including gathering recent contact information). Each state or region is left to do it their own way in the name of “FREEDUMB!!!”.
New York State, and our neighbors Connecticut and New Jersey, make COVID testing free at least for anyone with any kind of symptoms and anyone who thinks they may have been exposed.
E.g. Anyone who participated in a Black-Lives-Matter demonstration in New York was encouraged to go get a free test.

Hospitals are generally not doing them unless you are a patient. There are advertisements here for a certain hospital chain that if you show up at their emergency departments for a COVID test, you will be billed for an emergency department visit.

As others mentioned, testing coverage varies by state.

It makes sense that the hospitals want to keep sick people away from the hospitals who don’t need hospital care. We don’t need a line of people showing up at the ER just for a test because they found out 2 people they went to dinner with last week have covid.