Blue California – COVID-19 Update
December 30th, 2020
As the fight against COVID-19 continues, Blue Shield of California is extending cost-sharing waivers through January 31, 2021 for COVID-19 treatment.
Treatment
Since April, Blue Shield has waived co-payments, coinsurance, and deductibles for treatment for COVID-19. We are extending this waiver through January 31, 2021. This applies to the following plan types:
- Fully insured plans
- Plans purchased through Blue Shield of California directly
- Plans purchased through Covered California
- Medicare Advantage plans
- Medicare Supplement plans
- Employer-sponsored plans where the plan sponsor elects to pay for copays, coinsurance, and deductibles for COVID-19 treatment. These plans are not required to cover these costs. Employer groups with questions on this topic should contact their account team.
Medi-Cal members have no out-of-pocket costs for treatments.
Covered services include any treatments for COVID-19 from doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare professionals in a plan’s network from March 1, 2020 through January 31, 2021. Providers must use proper diagnosis and procedure codes related to COVID-19 for Blue Shield to waive member deductible, copay, and coinsurance liability for treatment.
Please note: COVID-19 guidance evolves rapidly. Our responses are based on existing guidance and are subject to change depending on legal and/or regulatory developments.
Stay up to date
Blue Shield is closely monitoring the trajectory of the COVID-19 public health emergency, including state and federal policy. We will continue to look for ways to assist members, providers, employers and business partners during this unprecedented time, and we will continue to keep you informed with updates. More information is available on our Coronavirus (COVID-19) web page for brokers and employers – which is updated regularly. You can also see the latest updates from Blue Shield on our News Center or have them emailed to you by subscribing here.