Insurers beginning to bill patients for covid-19 care

FAIR Health found that the average charge for a complicated U.S. COVID-19 hospital stay is $317,810. But hospitals end up receiving an average of $98,139 in payments from insurers and

patients, according to a September report. The amount paid by a patient can vary widely from plan to plan, driven by specific cost-sharing provisions and such factors as whether patients

have fulfilled their deductibles, Sicoli said. INSURER APPROACHES VARY Kaiser Permanente began waiving out-of-pocket costs on April 1, 2020, for members with positive COVID-19 diagnoses,

said spokeswoman Elizabeth Schainbaum. Consumers did not have copays or other costs related to their care, including hospital stays, she said. That policy ended on July 31, 2021. “This

waiver was conceived as a temporary measure, and our waiver remained in place longer than others. The charges were restored because the economy has improved and vaccines are readily

available,” Schainbaum said. Aetna began waiving its cost-sharing in March 2020 for its members for inpatient treatment of COVID-19 or associated complications, said spokesman Ethan

Slavin. That policy ended on Feb. 28, 2021. In April 2020, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association announced that its member companies would waive cost-sharing for treatment of COVID-19

through the end of May 2020, although many members extended the waivers. THE OUTLIERS Not everyone is going back to business as usual. Regence BlueShield, based in Seattle, has taken

another approach. Until Dec. 31, 2021, its fully insured and Medicare members can get COVID-19 treatment with no out-of-pocket costs, including hospitalization and rehabilitation, said 

spokesman Ashley Bach. Regence BlueShield has more than 1.2 million customers in Washington. That contrasts with its neighboring insurer, Premera Blue Cross, based in Mountlake Terrace,

Washington, which ended waivers on June 30. In New England, while New Hampshire state officials allowed insurers to resume charging deductibles and copays several months ago, Vermont stands

out for its decision to require insurers to continue to shield patients from out-of-pocket costs. “We wanted to remove any barrier to people getting tested and getting treated,” said

Michael Pieciak, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Financial Regulation. Vermont officials have worked with insurers to extend the program until at least March 2022. MEDICARE STEPS

UP  Throughout the pandemic, Medicare has expanded free services for its beneficiaries. * COVID-19 tests are free. If you can’t leave home, Medicare will pay to have a test brought to

your residence. * COVID-19 vaccines are also free, including Pfizer or Moderna booster shots at least six months after the second Pfizer or Moderna shots, or a Johnson and Johnson

booster shot at least two months after the first shot.  * If you can’t leave home, Medicare will pay for a health provider to vaccinate you at home. * COVID-19 antibody tests are free. If

you’ve had the coronavirus, this test helps show if your body has developed an immune response, indicating that you’re less likely to be reinfected. * COVID-19 monoclonal antibody

treatments are free if you have a mild to moderate case of the coronavirus and are at high risk of becoming sicker or being hospitalized. * Telehealth services have expanded to include more

professionals, such as physical and occupational therapists, and can occur via telephone as well as via video. If you want more details about Medicare COVID coverage, check out this 2020

KFF issue brief or this guide from the Center for Medicare Advocacy. _Deborah Schoch is a contributing writer who covers health and science. A longtime journalist, she has most recently done

work for AARP, _The New York Times_ and KNBC-TV Los Angeles._