PR Newswire reports…

The Minnesota Council of Health Plans announced today that Minnesota’s nonprofit health plans are voluntarily waiving cost-sharing for COVID-19 in-patient treatment for enrollees as part of a framework to support and protect the health of Minnesotans amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

And telehealth is part of their 4-step solution…

• Testing. Health plans do not want cost barriers to prevent Minnesotans from receiving appropriate testing for COVID-19. …
• Treatment. To the extent permitted by law, health plans are now waiving cost sharing for in-network COVID-19 hospitalization on fully insured, individual and group health plans through May 31, 2020. …
• Network Adequacy and Out-of-Network Utilization. Minnesota health plans are working closely with the Walz administration to consistently verify that their provider networks are up to date and are adequate to handle an increase in utilization, and that relevant processes are in place when requests for out-of-network utilization are received.
• Telemedicine. Minnesota’s health plans encourage anyone experiencing COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) or who has potentially been exposed to the virus, to seek health care in a manner that minimizes the potential exposure of others, which might include first calling a provider or utilizing telehealth services. Telemedicine is an effective care-delivery method that allows patients to visit providers without exposure to potential risk of infection.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield/Blue Plus of Minnesota
• HealthPartners
• Hennepin Health
• Medica
• PreferredOneUCare