Call Us 714-841-5830 ☰ ˟
Logo
Call Us 714-841-5830
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Community Service
    • Our Carriers
    • Privacy Policy
  • Business & Commercial
    • General Liability Insurance
    • Workers Compensation
    • Commercial Auto Insurance
    • Commercial Property Insurance
    • Commercial Umbrella Insurance
    • Errors & Omissions
    • Employee Benefits
    • Group Health
    • Cyber Liability Insurance
    • D & O Insurance
    • Bonds
  • Personal Lines
    • Automobile
    • Homeowners
    • Renters
    • Personal Umbrella Insurance
    • Annuities
    • Disability Insurance
    • Health
    • High Value Home Insurance
    • Life
    • Motorcycle
    • Off-Road Vehicles Insurance
    • Recreational Vehicle
    • Rental Property Insurance
  • Contact Us
    • Contact Us
    • Employee Directory
    • Location Map
  • Resources
    • Blog
    • Refer a Friend
    • Insurance Glossary
    • Join Our Newsletter
    • Calculators
    • Free Reports
    • News Center
  • Customer Service
    • Quote Forms
    • Request Certificate of Liability Insurance
    • Add Driver to Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • Add Driver to Existing Auto Policy
    • Remove Driver from Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • Remove Driver from Existing Auto Policy
    • Add Vehicle to Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • Add Vehicle to Existing Auto Policy
    • Remove Vehicle from Existing Commercial Auto Policy
    • Remove Vehicle from Existing Auto Policy
    • Request ID Card for Commercial Auto Policy
    • Request ID Card for Auto Policy
Home > Blog > Health Plans Dropping Out-of-Pocket Cost Waivers for COVID-19 Treatment
TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 2021

Health Plans Dropping Out-of-Pocket Cost Waivers for COVID-19 Treatment

As the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel gets brighter, more health insurers are ceasing to offer cost-sharing waivers for COVID-19 treatment.

After legislation was enacted in 2020 that required health insurance companies to cover COVID-19 tests and vaccines, many insurers voluntarily waived all deductibles, copayments and other costs for insured patients who fell ill with COVID-19 and needed hospital care, doctor visits, medications or other treatment.

Not all health insurers extended these waivers to their enrollees, but many did.

Insurers are still required to provide free COVID-19 testing and vaccinations to their enrollees. That's because federal guidance requires them to waive such costs.

Also, guidance issued in February after President Joe Biden assumed office, reinforced the Trump administration rule about waiving cost-sharing for testing. Biden's guidance took an extra step, saying that it applies even in situations in which an asymptomatic person wants a test before traveling or seeing a relative.

Almost 90% of individual and group health plans enrollees were in plans that waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment, according to the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker.

What insurers are now doing


However, starting in late 2020, more and more insurers have quietly been dropping those waivers. For example:

  • UnitedHealthcare started curtailing its waivers in November.
  • Anthem stopped its cost-sharing waivers on Jan. 31.
  • Cigna stopped offering cost-sharing waivers for COVID-19 treatment on Feb. 15.
  • Aetna ceased offering deductible-free inpatient COVID-19 treatment waivers on Feb. 28.

 

Not all insurers are doing this though. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota extended eligibility for telehealth benefits and COVID-19 treatment waivers through the end of 2021.  Humana, meanwhile, has left the cost-sharing waiver in place for Medicare Advantage members, but dropped it on Jan. 1 for those in job-based group plans.

A study by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and the Kaiser Family Foundation released in November 2020, found that 88% of Americans who have health coverage including employer-sponsored heath plans and individual plans purchased on exchanges had polices that waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment.

Despite the fact that vaccines are rolling out quickly across the country and in light of a significant percentage of people who are hesitant to get vaccinated for COVID-19, the coronavirus is expected to be a presence in society for some time to come. And that means people will contract it and get sick.

There are also concerns about mutant strains that have developed in South Africa and Brazil, and possibly in India during the massive outbreak in April.

 

The takeaway

You may want to check with your group health plans to see if they have waived any cost-sharing for COVID treatment, and have since dropped or are planning to drop it.

You should meet with your employees or send them a memo explaining any impending changes for them if they have a health plan that is ending or has ended waivers.  

 

Give us a call if you would like to discuss this in more detail. 

Posted 3:08 PM

Share |


No Comments


Post a Comment
Required
Required (Not Displayed)
Required


All comments are moderated and stripped of HTML.

NOTICE: This blog and website are made available by the publisher for educational and informational purposes only. It is not be used as a substitute for competent insurance, legal, or tax advice from a licensed professional in your state. By using this blog site you understand that there is no broker client relationship between you and the blog and website publisher.
Blog Archive
  • 2023
  • 2022
  • 2021
  • 2020
  • 2019
  • 2018
  • 2017
  • 2016

  • insurance(2)
  • nursing(1)
  • care(1)
  • long-term care(1)
  • network(1)
  • aging(1)
  • quaity(1)
  • in-network(1)
  • doctor(1)
  • medical(1)
  • medicaide(1)
  • office(1)
  • ltc(1)
  • doctors(1)
  • urgent care(1)

View Mobile Version
Carrier
Carrier
Carrier
Carrier
Carrier
Carrier
Carrier
Home| Get A Quote| Customer Service| Blog| About Us| Contact
7755 Center Ave, Suite 1100 | Huntington Beach, CA 92647
P: 714-841-5830 | F: 714-841-5831
PIA Logo Institutes Logo
Social Social
Logo