coverage – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

How Insurers are Covering COVID-19

David Posnett — Sat, 04 Apr 2020 19:21:22 +0000

Updated April 3, 2020 • By Samantha Liss

Insurers are weighing how best to respond to the outbreak of the novel coronavirus as cases swell in the U.S. Here is a tracker to follow the latest policy and coverage decisions from the nation’s largest insurers.

The nation’s health insurers are responding to the coronavirus pandemic with changes to coverage associated with COVID-19 as the number of cases continues to swell across the U.S.

The biggest payers have said they will waive patient cost-sharing — copays, coinsurance and deductibles — for testing. Although some, such as Cigna and Humana, have gone farther by eliminating cost-sharing for all COVID-19 treatment.

In addition to coverage decisions, insurers are weighing the ways they can reduce administrative barriers to promote quicker access to care for those infected with the novel coronavirus. All are cutting back on prior authorization in various ways to ease access to care.

Hospitals say that’s not enough, and are calling on the biggest payers to follow actions taken by Congress and CMS to help resolve cash flow issues, by accelerating payments or opting into releasing interim periodic payments. The American Hospital Association also is urging payers to eliminate administrative burdens such as prior authorizations.

“This crisis is challenging for all of us, and everyone has a role to play,” AHA said in its letter to the nation’s largest insurers. “You could make a significant difference in whether a hospital or health system keeps their doors open during this critical time.”

Despite the policy changes by payers, employers with self-funded plans can opt out of these policies. A majority of workers are covered by self-insured plans, which essentially allow employers to decide coverage decisions given they’re paying for the claims and having insurers simply perform administrative services.

Below is a tracker with the latest coverage decisions for the nation’s largest insurers.

UPDATED 4/3/2020

The BCBSA is eliminating cost-sharing for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. It will also waive cost-sharing for treatment at in-network or Medciare rates through May 31, including inpatient stays.

BCBSA will remove prior authorization requirements for testing and for services that are medically necessary to treat an infected patient. BCBSA also is waiving limits on early refills to make it easier to access medications and expanding access to telehealth services.

UPDATED 4/3/2020

Molina is halting cost-sharing for testing and treatment. That policy applies to Medicare, Medicaid and marketplace members nationwide.

UPDATED 4/2/2020

Aetna will waive cost-sharing for certain members admitted to an in-network hospital with COVID-19 or complications from the disease. The policy applies to all of Aetna’s commercial plans, though self-insured members can opt out. The policy will apply to admissions through June 1. Aetna also is waiving cost-sharing for testing and associated visits, including telehealth.

Aetna also is attempting to make access to hospitalization faster for those with COVID-19 by easing prior authorization requirements, particularly in areas hard hit by the outbreak like New York and Washington.

UPDATED 4/2/2020

The nation’s second largest commercial insurer will waive cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment and will reimburse providers at either in-network or Medicare rates through May 31. The policy applies to Anthem’s fully insured, individual, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage members. Self-insured plans can opt out. Anthem also is waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing and in-network visits associated with testing whether it’s conducted at a physician’s office, urgent care or ER.

Anthem also is easing its limits on early refills for 30-day prescriptions. Anthem said it would waive cost sharing for telehealth visits, including those for mental health for a period of 90 days starting March 17. Self-insured plans have the option to opt in the new virtual care policy.

UPDATED 4/2/2020

Centene will waive cost-sharing for COVID-19 related screening, testing and treatment for its Medicaid, Medicare and Marketplace members through June 30.

Centene also will eliminate prior authorization requirements for care for all its Medicare, Medicaid and Marketplace members. The company is also working to supply federally qualified health centers with personal protective equipment and assistance in providing small business loans to behavioral health providers and long-term service support organizations.

UPDATED 4/2/2020

Cigna will waive cost-sharing for all COVID-19 treatment, including testing and telehealth screenings through May 31. The policy applies to Cigna’s fully-insured group plans, individual coverage and Medicare Advantage plans. Self-insured plans can opt out.

Cigna will reimburse providers either at in-network or Medicare rates depending on the member. Cigna also is easing access to maintenance medication by offering free shipping for a 90-day supply. Cigna is easing prior authorization requirements for patients being discharged from the hospital to post-acure stays.

Humana

UPDATED 4/2/2020

Humana is waiving cost-sharing for testing and treatment, including hospital admissions for COVID-19 cases. The policy applies to its Medicare Advantage plans, fully-insured commercial plans, Medicare supplement and its Medicaid plans. The policy is indefinite with no current end date. Cost-sharing will be waived for all telehealth visits and members can opt to refill prescriptions early.

Humana also is easing administrative barriers to allow infected patients to easily move from a hospital to post-acute care settings. It’s suspending prior authorization and referral requirements and requesting notification within 24 hours. It’s also implementing an expedited claims process to reimburse providers faster, Humana said.

UPDATED 4/2/2020

The nation’s largest commercial insurer, will waive cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment through May 31. The policy applies to its fully-insured commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans. United also is waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing at approved locations in accordance with Centers for Disease Control guidelines. There will be no cost-sharing for visits related to testing including at physician offices, urgent care, ERs and telehealth visits. The policy applies to United’s commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid members.

UnitedHealthcare is opening a special enrollment period for some of its commercial members who opted out of coverage during the traditional enrollment period with their employers. This enrollment period will end April 6. The insurer also is easing prior authorization requirements through May 31, suspending prior approval for post-acute care and switching to a new provider.

Fox News Coverage is Dangerous

David Posnett — Mon, 30 Mar 2020 15:53:32 +0000

Fox News coronavirus coverage looks eerily similar to its climate crisis coverage — and is just as dangerous

There are similarities between the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis: The public health and economic threat, if left unaddressed, will be catastrophic and worldwide; immediate action from leaders who listen to those most knowledgeable about the issue is paramount; communication to the public on the scope of the emergency and actions necessary to mitigate its threat should be facilitated by trustworthy news sources; and Fox News has played an active role in misleading and misinforming its viewers about both.

In the face of the emerging coronavirus pandemic, Fox News has downplayed the severity of the coronavirus, promoted misinformation and deployed other tactics to distract from, and attempt to discredit, the urgency of the crisis and the legitimacy of those issuing warnings — just as it’s done for years when reporting on the climate crisis.
Tactic 1: Downplay the crisis

A hallmark of Fox News climate crisis coverage is dismissing the urgency of the threat, if not outright denying it, and labeling advocates for climate action as hysterical and alarmists, as I explained in a 2019 report for Public Citizen. Fox News opinion personalities and so-called news programs have used this same approach in an effort to downplay the seriousness of the coronavirus. Here are just a few examples:

On March 9, Sean Hannity on his eponymous Fox News show referred to the public health crisis facing this country as a “hoax” and claimed that “they’re scaring the living hell out of people.”

On March 8, Fox News’ Pete Hegseth stated, during a segment on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s state of emergency declaration, “I feel like the more I learn about this, the less there is to worry about.”

On February 29, the Fox & Friends hosts rallied around President Donald Trump’s claim that the coronavirus threat is a “hoax.”

On February 28, Fox anchor Harris Faulkner suggested criticizing the administration’s response to coronavirus is “feeding hysteria.”
Tactic 2: Traffic in dangerous misinformation

Climate deniers and the well-debunked misinformation they spread have made a home at Fox News. Amid this recent national crisis, the network has distributed dangerous misinformation about the severity of the coronavirus threat to its viewers, the majority of whom are among the most vulnerable to and at risk. Here are some of the most egregious examples:

On March 15, Fox News aired dangerous misinformation from Steven Hotze, a disreputable doctor who has a history of pushing “methods [that] are not supported by science and are potentially harmful” and sells bogus colloidal silver. Hotze dismissed concerns about the coronavirus, saying that “everybody has gone totally crazy about it” and recommending that people should “conduct your life normally.” The segments were part of Fox’s purported “news” division programming.

On March 6, Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel appeared on Fox News’ Hannity and told the host the “worst case scenario” for coronavirus is “it could be the flu.” The appearance on Hannity was one of at least 47 weekday appearances Siegel made to discuss the outbreak in the weeks leading up to the March 13 national emergency declaration.

In fact, Hotze and Seigel are among a handful of so-called medical experts who have appeared across the network’s programs to misinform viewers and dismiss the seriousness of the unfolding public health crisis.
Tactic 3: Finger-point and table-turn

Deflection is a signature move of Fox News anchors looking to pivot away from the facts of a story or change the trajectory of its most obvious conclusion. One of the more common examples of this appearing in the network’s climate coverage is a focus on an individual’s actions to deflect away from the evidence that supports their position on climate. For example, Fox News hosts often call out the hypocrisy of climate advocates who use air travel.

In the face of clear mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak by Trump, Fox News has cast around for someone else to blame and landed on its go-to fake villains: Democrats and reporters.

Media Matters has documented how Fox personalities lashed out at journalists for their coverage of coronavirus and at Democrats for their criticism of the administration.

On March 16, Laura Ingraham went so far as to say in defense of Trump, “The media, some have been enjoying this moment that has brought great inconvenience, disruption and suffering to American workers and families, let alone all the health challenges, the deaths and the infection rate — because some people think it’s Trump’s downfall, and they are cheering that on as they did during Mueller and all these other crises.”

On March 2, Sean Hannity got particularly creative in his attempt to deflect from Trump’s handling of the public health crisis by lying about President Obama’s 2009 “swine flu” response.
Tactic 4: Attack science

The backbone of most climate disinformation is a feigned or real mistrust of science and scientific evidence. It is from this place that climate science, scientists, and the institution where they work are attacked by those whose narratives, worldviews, or values they inconvenience, including Fox News.

The spread of the coronavirus has put our experts in the scientific community in the national spotlight as we rightfully turn to them for information and sound recommendations. It has also triggered one of Fox News’ most oft-employed attacks on the scientific community: They are politicized and therefore compromised.

On the March 6 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight, Fox’s Dr. Marc Siegel claims coronavirus concerns are being intentionally overblown to hurt Trump politically by dismissing the World Health Organization as “overly political” and “incompetent.”

On the March 4 edition of The Ingraham Angle, host Laura Ingraham’s guest attempted to discredit the Center for Disease Control by calling it a “highly politicized organization.”
Tactic 5: Legitimize and spread conspiracy theories

The most notorious climate change conspiracy theory — originating from then-future President Trump — is that it is a hoax “created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Another commonly cited conspiracy theory is that climate scientists distort findings or tamper with evidence for financial gain. This claim, which Fox has peddled, was the basis for the manufactured scandal “Climategate,” which Fox News seized on and ferociously promoted.

As the lethal outbreak of coronavirus spread around the world and the U.S. government warned that it would spread within the United States, Fox News was among the right-wing media outlets spreading conspiracy theories. That included one of the most prominent theories, which claims that coronavirus was manufactured and leaked by the Chinese government, and one of the most racist claims, that it was a r esult of people consuming animals alive.

On February 10, Fox News prime-time host Tucker Carlson speculated about the unsubstantiated bioweapon theory, asking his guest whether COVID-19 is “not a naturally occurring virus” or was “somehow created by the Chinese government.” His theory was debunked by his guest Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, a medical director of a chain of urgent care clinics.

Even though this theory has been widely debunked (even on air during a Fox program), on February 25, Fox Business host Lou Dobbs claimed that “we don’t know yet whether or not this was an engineered virus” and said that there is “a research lab some 300 yards from the epicenter of this outbreak.”

Carlson, on his January 23 show, also blamed the emergence of the virus on Chinese culture, advancing the unproven theory that it was a result of people consuming animals “alive.”

While many of the tactics Fox News has used to misinform and mislead its views about the climate crisis and the coronavirus outbreak are the same, its goals are different. As applied to the climate crisis, Fox wields these tactics in an attempt to blunt aggressive climate action. As applied to the coronavirus, Fox has deployed them to shield Trump from political backlash. Either way, these tactics are shameful and dangerous — and their impact is not easily corrected.

This video is amusing:

coverage – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

How Insurers are Covering COVID-19

Blue Cross Blue Shield Association

Molina

Aetna (CVS)

Anthem

Centene

Cigna

Humana

UnitedHealthcare

Fox News Coverage is Dangerous

Fox News coronavirus coverage looks eerily similar to its climate crisis coverage — and is just as dangerous

Tactic 1: Downplay the crisis

Tactic 2: Traffic in dangerous misinformation

Tactic 3: Finger-point and table-turn

Tactic 4: Attack science

Tactic 5: Legitimize and spread conspiracy theories