Health Plan Weekly

UnitedHealth Downplays Cost of Omicron, At-Home Tests

  • Jan 21

    Jan 21, 2022

    For health insurers, the new year has ushered in a mandate to cover at-home COVID-19 tests and a highly transmissible coronavirus variant that is making it clear the pandemic is far from over. During its recent conference call to discuss fourth-quarter 2021 financial results, UnitedHealth Group explained how its massive, integrated health care enterprise is responding to both challenges.

    The Biden administration on Jan. 10 unveiled new guidance specifying that all group and individual health plans must reimburse members for eight free over-the-counter COVID tests per month without cost sharing. The administration also said it would allow insurers to cap test costs at $12 each if insurers set up in-network agreements with pharmacies/retail stores that allow members to access free tests directly, without filing for reimbursement.

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    • Leslie Small

    Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

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