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January 11, 2022 at 04:13 PM
What You Need to Know
- Insurers will have to pay for eight home COVID-19 test kits per enrolllee per month.
- The Blues agree that people need easy access to tests.
- For the Blues, one concern is getting the mandate rules just a few days before it takes effect.
The head of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association says its member insurers need more home COVID-19 test kits to make the new national test kit access policy work.
Kim Keck, the Chicago-based association’s CEO, said in a statement Monday that the association agrees that, in the COVID-19 public health crisis, Americans need access to COVID-19 tests.
The Blues appreciate the efforts of the administration of President Joe Biden to protect patients and insurers against test kit price-gouging and abuse, Keck said.
“That being said, we are concerned that the policy does not solve for the limited supply of tests in the country,” Keck said.
Officials with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Employee Benefits Security Administration said Monday, through a press release and informal batches of guidance, that every health insurer and group health plan will have to cover eight tests per enrollee per month, starting Jan. 15.
The maximum price coverage providers will have to pay for kits from out-of-network suppliers is $12.
