Health Insurers Widen Coverage For Coronavirus Screenings From Tests To Office Visits

Health insurance companies are beginning to cover co-payments and related out-of-pocket costs to include visits to doctor’s offices for screening for the Coronavirus strain COVID-19.

It’s the latest wave by health plans to eliminate potential bureaucratic hurdles including fees to accessing diagnostic tests amid a U.S. health crisis as testing ramps up at sites across the country for patients who may be infected with the Coronavirus strain COVID-19. 

But health insurers aren’t covering treatment as was suggested earlier this week by the White House.

Cigna Friday said it is waiving “customer cost-sharing for office visits related to COVID-19 testing through May 31.” Other health plans are also taking additional measures to waive fees for diagnostic testing for COVID-19 or allowing for  access to virtual physician or other medical care provider consultation via telehealth.

“We are relentlessly focused on keeping our customers and communities safe,” Cigna president and chief executive officer David Cordani said. “We are taking all precautionary safety measures and making it easier for our customers to protect themselves against COVID-19 by accessing medical care virtually, over the phone, or in person.”

Health plan coverage varies from insurer to insurer so customers are encouraged to visit company websites or review policies, particularly if they have employer-sponsored coverage. Depending on the health plan, insurers or employers may require the doctor to be in the health plan network or have a preferred location for testing or evaluation in a particular physician group or office.

A controversy erupted earlier this week when President Trump suggested health insurers would be covering the cost of treatment for coronavirus, but that’s generally not the case.

Insurers are generally covering health plan enrollee’s share of preventative diagnostic testing, telehealth consultations and, lately, visits to their doctor’s office as the Cigna announcement described Friday. For example, UnitedHealth Group’s UnitedHealthcare health insurance unit last week waived “all diagnostic test cost-sharing for insured members.”

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the trade and lobby for health insurers, has a running tally of company responses to the coronavirus that includes links to company announcements and related information. AHIP represents some of the biggest health insurers in the country including CVS Health and its Aetna health insurance unit, Cigna, Anthem, Centene and many Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.