"[C]osts related to subsequent treatment for COVID-19—including inpatient hospital admissions— will be waived for enrollees of Medicare Advantage plans, fully insured commercial members, Medicare Supplement and Medicaid.The waiver applies to all medical costs related to the treatment of COVID-19 as well as FDA-approved medications or vaccines when they become available."
"Researching a post on how carriers *might* handle use of chloroquine for COVID-19. NOT asking how y'all will handle that issue specifically, but just how/if cover off-label use of meds for medically-necessary issues. For example, using Colchicine (gout med) for Pericarditis (pericardium inflammation). *In general*, is this kind of thing usually covered?"As one might imagine, carriers are (understandably) reluctant to pre-adjudicate a hypothetical claim, and so I've been very carefiul to emphasize that I'm looking only for a historical perspective, which may be of value in the current situation.
"This bulletin pertains to all insurers (“Insurers”) providing property and casualty, life, and long term care insurance policies (“policies”) in the State of Ohio. The purpose of this bulletin is to notify Insurers that they must provide their insureds with at least a 60-day grace period to pay insurance premiums or submit information."
"Applicable law limits Anthem’s ability to share an individual’s protected health information with an employer absent an authorization or certain extenuating circumstances. As a result, Anthem is limited by law in its ability to disclose individual’s protected health information to an employer."
"By way of example, some policies require “direct physical loss of or damage to” property. “Loss” and “damage” are not synonymous and may require separate analysis. Such wording could arguably trigger coverage where there is a loss of the premise’s use (even if the property is not physically damaged)."
(CMS) posted Payment &; Grace Period Flexibilities Issuers Offering Coverage FFM & SBE, CMS will exercise enforcement discretion to permit issuers lans (QHPs) & (SADPs) to extend payment deadlines for initial payments as well as ongoing premiums during the period of the COVID-19— HAFA (@TheNolanGroup) March 25, 2020
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| Age 65 Younger Spouse |
"Billing
Policyholders are understandably concerned about their ability to pay premiums as government mandated closures continue to increase. To help, we’re suspending all property casualty cancellations due to nonpayment from March 16 to April 30 – or later if required by an individual state.
While we hope that most policyholders can stick with their current payment arrangements, if you have a standard lines commercial, personal or life policyholder asking about alternative payment arrangements our billing associates are authorized to adjust the customer’s current bill and to waive any late fees for any premium payments due between March 16 and April 30. This is not a waiver of payments during the suspension period, but an extension or grace period for those directly impacted by this pandemic. Please have them contact our billing departments"
Q: Can Anthem provide my company with information regarding COVID-19 cases within our member population?
A: Applicable law limits Anthem’s ability to share an individual’s protected health information with an employer absent an authorization or certain extenuating circumstances. As a result, Anthem is limited by law in its ability to disclose individual’s protected health information to an employer.
Q: Can an employer receive information on the number of claims — but not specific names — for COVID-19 tests and related services?
A: No. Currently, it may be possible to identify someone specifically even if, for example, their name is not shared. We recommend checking in with local health authorities to understand the total number of cases in any given area.
Self-insured plans no longer have the option not to waive out-of-pocket member expenses for the diagnostic test and the visit associated with the test, as laid out in the federal mandate.
.@LtGovHusted: @OHInsurance is issuing an order to allow employers to take care of employees with a grace period for insurance premiums. Employers can defer their premium payments for health insurance for up to 2 months.— Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) March 20, 2020
Michel Leonard of @iiiorg says highest impact will be on Work Comp with exposure highest for carriers covering medical, first responders, transportation and retail. Need for greater education around policies and coverages regarding #COVID19— National Association of Insurance Commissioners (@naic) March 20, 2020
I wonder how many people think their health insurance will pay for Corvid19 treatments. Waving a copay for the test is not the same as waving a fee for your "treatment". HDHP folks you are still on the hook. They ar only waving copays for the test.https://t.co/XHs7skx0F2— Sheron E Sidbury (@SheronESidbury) March 19, 2020
"HHS ... will exercise enforcement discretion and waive penalties for HIPAA violations against health care providers that serve patients in good faith through everyday communications technologies, such as FaceTime or Skype, during the COVID-19 emergency." https://t.co/ODkfMA9Smk— AssocAmerPhys&Surg (@AAPSonline) March 17, 2020
A bigger fear than paying for COVID-19 testing and treatment is how do small businesses & people being laid off pay premiums for health insurance? @insureblog @MikeBertaut— Patrick Paule (@patpaule) March 17, 2020
"The Internal Revenue Service today advised that high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) can pay for 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)-related testing and treatment, without jeopardizing their status."https://t.co/ItIWGHrpEu— Joe Kristan (@joebwan) March 11, 2020
Even though her #investments are down about 20%, my mother-in-law's #longtermcare insurance policy will pay the full cost of her assisted-living facility this month just like it did last month. #bearmarket #personalfinance #RetirementPlanning— Scott A. Olson, CLTC (@LTCShop) March 10, 2020
Thank you, @johnhancockusa! https://t.co/aVzSy4Nit2
"Enhanced Due Diligence
A client’s location, affiliation, or type of business may raise red flags that indicate a need for increased scrutiny. For example, regulators have identified senior political figures as individuals that require greater due diligence. This enhanced due diligence will be conducted by the carrier."
"[This past Friday], the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) took additional actions to ensure America’s patients, healthcare facilities and clinical laboratories are prepared to respond to the 2019-Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
CMS has developed a second Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code that can be used by laboratories to bill for certain COVID-19 diagnostic tests to help increase testing and track new cases. In addition, CMS released new fact sheets that explain Medicare, Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Individual and Small Group Market Private Insurance coverage for services to help patients prepare as well."
