Cigna, Humana, Aetna Waive Cost-Sharing for Coronavirus (COVID-19) Treatment

• by Christian Worstell
• February 5, 2021

Published April 2, 2020

Follow our Medicare Coronavirus News page for related information on coronavirus (COVID-19) and its impact on Medicare beneficiaries.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandated in early March that all testing for COVID-19 be covered in full by Medicare and private Medicare insurance carriers. A COVID-19 vaccine will also be covered if and when one becomes available.

Now, some private insurance carriers are going a step further by eliminating cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment protocols as well. 

Cigna, Humana and Aetna have each taken measures to reduce out-of-pocket spending for their Medicare plan members who undergo treatment for the disease. These out-of-pocket costs can include plan deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. 

COVID-19 treatment can potentially include inpatient hospital stays, doctor’s office appointments, inpatient skilled nursing facility stays, home health visits and emergency ambulance transportation. 

These services can typically come with costs such as copays and deductibles.

With waived coinsurance and deductibles for COVID-19 treatment, savings can add up

Cigna and Humana both waived COVID-19-related cost-sharing for their Medicare Advantage (Medicare Part C) plans.

Medicare Advantage plans cover the same inpatient and outpatient services and items that are covered by Original Medicare (Medicare Part A and Part B).

While Original Medicare is provided by the federal government, private insurance companies administer Medicare Advantage plans.

Some of the out-of-pocket costs that a beneficiary who has Original Medicare may face if they receive covered COVID-19 treatment include:

• Beneficiaries who have Original Medicare and who receive inpatient hospital treatment for COVID-19 will typically have to pay the 2020 Medicare Part A deductible of $1,408 for each benefit period that they receive inpatient care.
  
  There are also Part A daily coinsurance costs for lengthy hospital stays that last longer than 60 days.
  
  
• Beneficiaries who have Original Medicare and who receive outpatient care must pay the 2020 Part B deductible of $198 per year before Medicare covers the costs of their outpatient care.
  
  After meeting the Part B deductible, beneficiaries typically pay a 20 percent coinsurance or copay for covered services and items. 

For members of Medicare Advantage plans from Cigna and Humana, however, those costs will be waived for covered COVID-19 treatment.

“Our customers with COVID-19 should focus on fighting this virus and preventing its spread,” David M. Cordani, President and CEO of Cigna¹

“While our customers focus on regaining their health, we have their backs,” David Cordani, President and CEO of Cigna, said in a statement.

Cigna’s cost-sharing waiver expires May 31, 2020.

“We know we’re uniquely positioned to help our members during this unprecedented health crisis,” said Bruce Broussard, President and CEO of Humana. “It’s why we’re taking this significant action to help ease the burden on seniors and others who are struggling right now.”²

Humana’s waivers includes costs related to COVID-19 treatment by both in-network and out-of-network facilities or physicians.

Humana’s cost sharing waivers currently have no end date, as the company plans to readdress the situation as needed.

Aetna, a CVS Health company, is also dismissing COVID-19-related inpatient cost-sharing for its members. 

“The additional steps we’re announcing today are consistent with our commitment to delivering timely and seamless access to care as we navigate the spread of COVID-19,” said Karen S. Lynch, president of Aetna Business Unit. “We are doing everything we can to make sure our members have simple and affordable access to the treatment they need as we face the pandemic together.”³

Aetna’s cost-sharing waiver for inpatient admissions to any in-network facility for treatment of COVID-19 is currently in effect until June 1, 2020. 

About the author

Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.

Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.

Christian has written hundreds of articles for MedicareAvantage.com that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.

Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.

A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

If you’re a member of the media looking to connect with Christian, please don’t hesitate to email our public relations team at Mike@tzhealthmedia.com.

 

 

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