Home Health Care Three insurers waive treatment costs for Covid-19

Three insurers waive treatment costs for Covid-19

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Three insurers have moved to cover the cost of care related to Covid-19, as more people across the U.S. are sickened by the pandemic. Cigna, Humana and Aetna all moved within the last week to waive related out-of-pocket costs for members in their individual and group health plans.

Most people who have milder cases of Covid-19 will be told to self-quarantine at home. But for those who are severely ill, the cost of a hospital trip, or a multiple-day stay, can quickly add up. One uninsured patient reported a bill just short of $35,000 after it took multiple hospital trips to get a diagnosis. Another estimate pegged the cost of a six-day hospital stay at over $73,000.

All group and individual health plans must waive out-of-pocket costs for testing and associated visits, per the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. But outside of that, there’s still a lot of variation in what insurers require members to pay. Here’s how different commercial insurers have changed their plans in response to Covid-19:

Cigna: On Monday, Cigna moved to waive co-payments and other out-of-pocket costs for Covid-19 treatment through May 31. The insurer will also cover more telehealth appointments, but is only waiving the cost of virtual appointments related to Covid-19. The changes apply to Cigna’s individual, group and Medicare Advantage plans. The insurer said it is also offering this coverage to self-insured plans, though they have the option to opt out.

Humana: Humana also recently announced it would waive cost-sharing related to Covid-19 treatment, including telehealth visits, hospital visits and ambulance services. Since tests have been hard to come by, the insurer specified that a positive Covid-19 test confirmation is not required to be covered. Humana is also waiving out-of-pocket costs for telehealth visits. The company has not specified when this extended coverage would end.

Aetna: Last week, the CVS Health subsidiary was the first to say it would waive cost-sharing and co-pays for in-network hospital admissions related to Covid-19. Aetna is also waiving the cost of all telemedicine visits until the beginning of June.

 

Other insurers have expanded some aspects of their coverage, but plan members would still pay the associated costs with a hospital visit:

Anthem– Anthem is waiving the cost of certain telemedicine appointments, including mental health care visits, for the next three months.

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association– The 36 independent companies as part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association will expand their telehealth coverage for the next three months. This includes waiving cost-sharing for in-network telehealth providers.

Kaiser Permanente– Aside from covering Covid-19 testing, Kaiser Permanente has not announced any changes to cost-sharing.

UnitedHealthcare – UnitedHealthcare expanded its telehealth benefits and is waiving cost-sharing for employer-sponsored plans with an included telehealth benefit. Patients still pay their co-pay or deductible for telehealth visits conducted through their local provider.

 

Photo credit: JamesBrey, Getty Images

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