Sending a Fax in 2026

The other day my wife gave me 4 pages of paper and asked me to take it to a store and fax it to its destination. I suspected that this was the most expensive and inconvenient method to send the document. Based on various online sources, sending a domestic outgoing fax at FedEx costs approximately $2.50 for the first page, followed by approximately $2.00 for each additional page, so a 4-page fax would cost approximately $8.50. Prices would be similar at The UPS Store, Staples, Office Depot, and other similar offerings and of course would vary from store to store.

Therefore, I asked her to consider alternative options. Could the document be sent as a PDF file via email? She told me that email was unfortunately not an option and that it had to be sent via fax.

I read online that some public libraries offer free or low-cost fax services. I checked the website for our local library, and unfortunately it did not list faxing as a service at that branch. I wanted to call the library to ask if they offered fax services, but unfortunately it was after hours.

Finally, I decided to use an online fax service. Not having ever used an online fax service, I asked ChatGPT to recommend one with a good reputation and fair pricing. It offered a couple of options, and I somewhat randomly went with FaxZero.com, although I am sure that there are many other online fax services with competitive offerings. The process was simple. I first scanned my 4-page document to a PDF file. I then entered information about the sender and receiver and attached my PDF file. There was an option to enter text for a cover page, but I left it blank. Then I paid $3.29 via credit card (note that sending faxes up to 3 pages is free) and sent the fax. Email confirmations were provided upon initial transmission and successful sending of the fax.

I appreciated many aspects of the online fax service. First, we could send a fax without purchasing a physical fax machine. Second, we could send the fax from the comfort of our own home and avoid locating and driving to a physical store, and potentially waiting in a line or waiting for an agent to assist us. Third, we did not have to wait for the fax to transmit—instead, we simply received an email notification upon job completion.

If I was ever asked to fax something, I’d still first search for better alternatives such as email, but if I absolutely had to fax something, I’d definitely consider using an online fax service again due to its convenience and lower cost in comparison to in-store options.

Keep Your Fax Machines For Now

I previously wrote about COVID-⁠19 At-home Tests and that insurance companies and group health plans must provide full reimbursement for up to 8 over-the-counter at-home tests per individual per month. In follow-up to this announcement, the Kaiser Family Foundation published a brief study of the methods that private insurers are covering at-home rapid COVID tests. They reviewed publicly available rapid at-home COVID tests coverage and reimbursement policies for the 13 private insurers with at least 1 million fully-insured members across their U.S. subsidiaries between January 18, 2022 and January 20, 2022, and this is what they found:

In summary, 6 of 13 insurers have a direct coverage option, meaning that enrollees can buy rapid at-home tests without paying anything up front or navigating a complicated reimbursement process if the test is obtained through a preferred network of pharmacies or retailers, or through a mail order option.

The other 7 insurers do not have direct coverage but have some kind of reimbursement policy. 4 of those 7 insurers require receipts and a form be mailed in, with one of those 4 offering a fax option, but email and online submissions were not viable options. It is interesting that with all the technology we have available today, 4 of 7 insurers offer reimbursement of COVID tests only via mail or fax. In my opinion, mail and fax are harder to use than online options. I wonder if the new coverage policies will influence their migration to email or online reimbursement processes.