GRAFTON, N.Y. (News10)-A Capital Region man says he has been receiving dozens and dozens of COVID-19 tests in the mail that he never requested. Bill Middleton says the delivers began a month ago with packages containing over the counter COVID19 tests, delivered from pharmacies all across the country. But he tells News10’s Anya Tucker that he and his wife never ordered them.

Middleton says 45 of the tests have been sent to his home in Grafton, New York. News10’s Anya Tucker asked him if he recalled requesting the tests online or over the phone. Middleton insisted he did not. An address on one of the packages belongs to Groveway Pharmacy in California. Their website reads that the tests are being offered under the “current public health emergency” and that Groveway will cover up to 8 free tests a month to those who qualify. Middleton suspects that the “free” tests are actually being paid for through Medicare. “I know that they’ve got to be coming back charging my Medicare or my Social Security, and if they are doing that to a lot of senior citizens, it’s got to be a tremendous cost. And that’s a waste on the federal government just giving it away,” he said. Groveway is one of many other pharmacies participating with Medicare to offer covid tests. The list can be found on Medicare.gov. The website says the initiative is expected to end on May 11, 2023.

Middleton says he and his wife have been receiving 7-8 calls per day from online pharmacies. “And I say, ‘No, don’t send any. We don’t want them’.” But they keep coming he says.

Anya called Groveway’s main number. An operator gave her an email address so the Middleton’s can ask once again for the deliveries stop. Area county officials told her that they have not heard of this happening to anyone else and they suspect the Middleton’s information somehow got onto a shared list that is now proving very difficult to get off of.  

The Middleton’s live in Rensselaer County, and the County Executive’s Office tells News10 that they will assist the couple in cancelling the deliveries.