By Nathalie Voit

Popular retailers across the U.S. are raising prices on COVID-19 test kits after an agreement with the Biden administration to sell them below market rate expired in December. 

BinaxNOW kits, among the most commonly used COVID-19 rapid antigen tests in the country, will now set you back $19.98 a box at Walmart, up from a previously discounted $14. At Kroger, the two-test kit will now sell for $23.99.

The two retailers, along with Amazon, agreed with the White House last summer to sell the COVID-19 tests at discounted costs. The kits, manufactured by Abbott Laboratories, typically cost $24 or more for a box with two tests, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The deal was made as part of President Joe Biden’s $2 billion rapid testing plan. Under the agreement, BinaxNOW tests sold at the three major retailers for $14, with a discount of up to 35% off retail pricing. 

All three retailers were selling the tests “at cost” for the last three months as part of the White House pricing program. In a statement to USA TODAY, Walmart said that it continued to sell the kits at the discounted rate through the holidays, despite the program ending in mid-December.

The Journal said that the BinaxNOW kits are currently out of stock on Amazon or sold out on many online retailers as high demand due to a surge in omicron cases continues to squeeze supply. Shoppers at Walgreens are limited to four antigen tests. At CVS, customers can purchase a maximum of six. Amazon, which sells its own branded at-home testing kits, restricts buyers to ten.  

A spokesperson for Walmart said BinaxNOW testing kits would be easier to find in store. The retailer has placed a limit of eight on online orders of its self-test kits. 

“We have seen significant demand for at home Covid-19 testing kits and are working closely with our suppliers to meet this demand and get the needed product to our customers,” Walmart said in a statement.

According to the Journal, Abbott’s plants are running around the clock, seven days a week, to churn out 70 million tests a month.

“Despite rising U.S. material and labor costs, we have not passed along any of these costs to our customers, and the price at retail has not changed since we launched the test,” the company said.