Are your employees asking how COVID-19 testing and treatment will be covered by your insurer? With the need for timely, barrier-free care amplified by the coronavirus pandemic, no one wants to receive any ambiguity about tests, approved hospitals, or covered providers.
Fortunately, the health insurance industry is rising to the occasion. Providers large and small have put together emergency plans to handle COVID-19 healthcare needs. Chances are good your benefits provider has changed policies in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
What are health insurance companies doing for consumers?
The five largest healthcare companies in the United States — Aetna, Anthem, Cigna, United HealthCare, and Humana — have responded by removing barriers like fees and authorizations which are associated with COVID-19 testing and treatment.
They’ve also made it more affordable to access telehealth options, in some cases waiving fees altogether. As telehealth protects both consumers seeking treatment, and healthcare providers, this preventive measure could prove instrumental in the fight against the virus’s spread. (Learn more about telehealth’s expansion here.)
Regardless of size, health insurance companies across the country are working to provide emergency assistance with the unexpected costs of COVID-19. Some providers are even going beyond the immediate needs posed by the virus itself, with program changes designed to help consumers deal with the realities of stay-at-home measures.
Providers are rolling out a variety of new initiatives to ease the challenge of daily life in a pandemic, from waiving restrictions on early prescription refills, to offering expanded behavioral health support, and providing more delivery options for everything from medicines to pantry staples.
Is your health insurance provider changing policies during the COVID-19 outbreak?
Chances are, some of your health insurance providers’ policies have changed — maybe even a few times — in recent months and weeks. We have a full list of healthcare provider changes for COVID-19 here.
Human Resources professionals, be sure that your employees and teams are aware of these important changes. If you’re a WBD client, you can reach out to your account manager and have these updates added to your supersite.
If you’re not yet a WBD client, contact us to learn how you can take advantage of some of our tools, and for ways we can help you during these complicated times for benefits administrators.