AHIP Calls On Congress to Address Price Gouging of COVID-19 Tests
AHIP is urging Congress to take action and address the ongoing price gouging of COVID-19 tests that payers are facing from out-of-network providers. In a statement submitted to the House Committee...Medicare Will Cover OTC Coronavirus Tests At The Counter
CMS has announced that Medicare will cover over-the-counter coronavirus tests. Medicare beneficiaries will be able to access free over-the-counter coronavirus tests through covidtests.gov. The tests...Consumers Face Struggles with COVID-19 Testing Access, Coverage
More than 20 percent of consumers have experienced barriers to COVID-19 testing in the last six months, such as struggling to find a test or forgoing a test because there were no testing options...How Private Payers, Medicaid Cover At-Home COVID-19 Testing
A handful of the largest private payers are evenly split regarding whether they provide direct coverage for at-home COVID-19 testing, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) which assessed both...COVID-19 Federal Spending Drove National 2020 Healthcare Spending
National healthcare spending increased by nearly 10 percent in 2020 to $4.1 trillion, largely due to the spike in federal spending in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Health Affairs...At-Home COVID-19 Tests in Low Supply Before New CMS Requirements
In a sample of online retailers, only a fraction of the at-home COVID-19 testing opportunities were available the week before CMS announced the new at-home COVID-19 test coverage requirements for...CMS Requires Payers to Cover At-Home Coronavirus Testing
Updated 1/11/2022: This article has been updated to include comments from leaders at the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP). Health insurers will be responsible for the costs of at-home...Hospitalization of Unvaccinated COVID-19 Patients Cost $13B
Going without a coronavirus vaccine can have an impact on healthcare spending in the US, a Peterson-Kaiser Family Foundation Health System Tracker report on unvaccinated COVID-19 patients found. Based...Children, COVID-19 Are Drivers of Household Healthcare Spending
Households that had a COVID-19 diagnosis and those with children had higher rates of household healthcare spending and medical bill concerns, according to the...ACHP Asks CMS To Set At-Home COVID-19 Testing Coverage Standards
In a letter to CMS, the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) has requested that the federal government establish certain requirements for at-home COVID-19 testing coverage. “We support the...UHG Report Finds Encouraging Trends During The Coronavirus Pandemic
While the coronavirus pandemic has had a terrible impact on measures such as the national mortality rate and health equity, certain measures—such as the prevalence of multiple chronic conditions...Biden Plan Expands COVID-19 Testing Coverage, Booster Outreach
As the weather gets colder and the Omicron variant of the coronavirus emerges in the United States, the Biden administration has released an action plan that included steps to expand COVID-19 testing...Medicaid Will Cover Coronavirus Vaccine Counseling for Kids
State Medicaid programs must cover coronavirus vaccine counseling for children as well as vaccine counseling for all pediatric vaccines for eligible beneficiaries, CMS announced. “By supporting...Solidifying Coronavirus Policies Might Improve Access to Coverage
Advance premium tax credits and other coronavirus policies may have bolstered access to coverage during the pandemic, a RAND Corporation report stated. The researchers simulated nonelderly adult...Americans Ready To Choose Coverage During 2022 Open Enrollment
More than eight out of ten survey participants in UnitedHealthcare’s sixth annual Consumer Sentiment Survey indicated that they are ready to choose a health plan during 2022 open enrollment...Payer Third Quarter Earnings Results Spotlight COVID-19 Impact
Payer third quarter earnings results indicated that the coronavirus pandemic had varying effects on major payers in 2021. For some payers, higher than expected levels of deferred care led to revenue...Providers Share Benefits of Medicare Advantage During COVID-19
There has been a lot of valuable conversation around the benefits that Medicare Advantage health plans can offer to consumers, but now providers have offered their perspectives on this form of health...Coronavirus Pandemic’s Impact on Insurer, Consumer Trends in 2021
The coronavirus pandemic has left its mark on health insurer and enrollee trends, an eHealth report confirmed. The report based its findings on over 2,200 anonymous survey responses from the American...COVID-19 May Push Americans To Change Plans For Open Enrollment
Many consumers are considering changing their healthcare plan during open enrollment 2022, a movement largely motivated by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a ValuePenguin study. The...Sponsored Article
