Humana Waives Cost Sharing for Primary Care for Remainder of 2020

In an effort to continue providing access to members while reducing economic burden, Humana announced this week that it will be waiving cost sharing for primary care—including copays, coinsurance, and deductibles—for the remainder of 2020.

“At a time when so many Americans are focused on caring for others, we want our senior members, in particular, to know that Humana is here to care for them,” said Bruce Broussard, President and CEO of Humana in a press release. “We will continue to assist all of our members through this unprecedented health crisis by easing any financial burden of seeing their doctor and helping them to live safely in their communities.”

Humana was one of the first major insurers to waive cost sharing and testing costs related to COVID-19 back in March. The expanded cost waivers went into effect May 1 and will remain in place for the rest of the calendar year.

The health insurer has an ongoing program called Human Care that in their words is “making the health care experience better, more personal and more caring” for members.

Humana noted in its announcement that it would appear many members are forgoing usual preventive, essential care throughout the COVID-19 crisis. The goal is to encourage members to use telehealth for basic needs and for behavioral health—an area many officials have expressed is seeing increases, exacerbated by the crisis.

The program also includes: (1) Eliminating out-of-pocket costs for office visits so that Medicare Advantage members can reconnect with their healthcare providers; and (2) Providing safety kits to support visits to health care providers.

“For members who need to access the healthcare system or other essential services in the community, Humana wants them to be as safe as possible,” Humana said in the press release.

 “By supporting members’ safety and lowering financial barriers, we can also help facilitate the re-opening of the healthcare system and help bolster the economy,” said Mr Broussard.

—Edan Stanley 

Reference:
Humana. Humana to Waive Member Costs for all Primary Care and Behavioral Health Office Visits for Medicare Advantage Members, Delivers Safety Kits to Members [press release]. https://press.humana.com/press-release/humana-waive-member-costs-all-primary-care-and-behavioral-health-office-visits-medicar. Published May 5, 2020. Accessed May 7, 2020.