COLUMBIA, S.C. — BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina announced today that the insurance company and its BlueChoice HealthPlan subsidiary will waive all out-of-pocket costs related to in-network COVID-19 medical treatment for members, through June 1, effective immediately.
According to an email sent to media organizations, members benefiting from this expansion of coverage are individual policy holders, Medicare Advantage plan members and Medicaid members, as well as fully insured employer group customers. In addition, the companies are working closely with their self-funded ERISA customers to ensure that those customers’ needs are also being met.
Earlier, the companies announced that they would cover the provider visit and testing to diagnose COVID-19 at no cost to the member, waiving members’ copays, co-insurance and deductibles. In addition, the organizations waived prior authorizations for COVID-19 related conditions and treatment. And, most recently, to support access to providers while encouraging social distancing recommendations, BlueCross and BlueChoice® members received free access to telehealth services, including behavioral health consultations.
David Pankau, president and CEO of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, said, “Because we are in the middle of an unprecedented health crisis, we wanted to further support our members during this challenging and stressful time. Removing some of the worry associated with costs was one way we could do that. ”
Members who have questions about their coverage should call the customer service number on their ID cards.