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UnitedHealthcare
is taking a number of steps to support you, your patients and your
communities during this health crisis. We’ll be regularly updating
you on these actions on the provider COVID-19
website and through ongoing emails. Highlights of these key
actions are summarized below for your easy reference.
For
Providers In addition to our previous
announcement of expanded
telehealth services, we’re working to improve access to care,
decrease your administrative processes, help address the short-term
financial pressure caused by the COVID-19 national emergency and
reduce the financial impact to members.
Accelerating
Payments On April 7, 2020, UnitedHealth Group
announced steps to accelerate nearly $2 billion in payments and
other financial support to care providers. This includes accelerated
claim payments to medical and behavioral care providers in
UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Individual and
Group Market fully insured health plans. Learn
More and read the Wall
Street Journal article about this
announcement.
Providing Guidance on Telehealth Claim
Submissions Our telehealth
coding guide gives examples of how UnitedHealthcare might
reimburse telehealth services for dates of service from March 18,
2020 until June 18, 2020. This includes telehealth sessions, virtual
check-ins and electronic visits (e-visits).
Waiving
Cost Share for COVID-19 Testing and Testing-Related
Visits Member
cost share (copays, coinsurance and deductibles) has been waived
for COVID-19 testing and testing-related visits throughout the
COVID-19 national emergency period. This applies whether the visit
occurs in a health care provider’s office, urgent care center,
emergency department or through a telehealth
visit.
Waiving Cost Share for COVID-19
Treatment If a member in our Medicare Advantage,
Medicaid, and Individual and Group Market fully insured health plans
receives treatment under a COVID-19 admission or diagnosis code
between Feb. 4, 2020 and May 31, 2020, we will waive
cost share for the following:
- Office visits
- Urgent care visits
- Emergency department visits
- Observation stays
- Inpatient hospital episodes
- Acute inpatient rehab
- Long-term acute care
- Skilled nursing facilities
Implementing
Provisional Credentialing We’re temporarily updating
our credentialing policies to implement provisional
credentialing from March 19, 2020 until June 18, 2020 for
out-of-network care providers who are licensed independent
practitioners and want to participate in our
networks.
Reducing Prior Authorization
Requirements To streamline operations for providers,
we’re suspending prior authorization requirements for COVID-19
diagnostic radiology, post-acute care, member transfers to a new
provider and site of service review for many surgical codes. Visit
our COVID-19 prior
authorization page for effective dates and specific
details.
Extending Timely Filing Limits
Claims with a date of service on or after Jan. 1, 2020 will not be
denied for failure to meet timely filing deadlines if submitted by
June 30, 2020. This applies to Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and
Individual and Group Market health plan
claims.
Helping You with Patient Discharges to SNF
Facilities If you need help with patient discharge
planning to lower levels of care settings during the emergency
period, such as to a skilled nursing facility (SNF), please email COVID-19dischargeplanning@uhc.com
and one of our team members will be in touch with you.
For
Members Improving Access to Durable
Medical Equipment For members who have existing health
conditions and are dependent on Durable Medical Equipment,
Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS), we’ve relieved prior
authorizations, in-person evaluation and proof-of-delivery
requirements to help our members access the critical supplies they
need. Visit the DMEPOS section of our COVID-19 prior
authorization page, for effective dates and specific
details.
Providing Other Member Support
To help support members, we are:
- Offering a special
enrollment period for members with fully insured,
employer-sponsored plans.
- Giving members access to early
prescription refills, as needed.
- Providing members with access to a COVID-19 symptom
checker.
- Offering support for high-risk members with a home-based
care management platform.
- Supporting members in home isolation through a navigation
support program.
- Giving members access to Sanvello,
an on-demand emotional support mobile app available during the
COVID-19 emergency.
- Providing access to emotional support through our helpline, a
free service from Optum that’s open to anyone and can be reached
24 hours a day, seven days a week at 866-342-6892.
For
Communities
We’re investing an initial $50 million to fight the COVID-19
pandemic and support those most directly impacted by the public
health emergency, including health care workers, hard-hit states,
seniors and people experiencing food insecurity or
homelessness.
UnitedHealth Group is also organizing and
matching employee donations dollar for dollar to support the
COVID-19 response efforts. Read the full press release here.
Keeping
You Informed As Circumstances Change This is
a dynamic situation, and we will continue to post changes and
updates on our care provider COVID-19
website. For answers to common questions around billing, claims,
and/or eligibility, you can continue to take advantage of our Link
self-service tools.
Sincerely, |
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