Insurance companies reimpose copays and deductibles for patients with COVID-19,

Insurance companies reimpose copays and deductibles for patients with COVID-19, bringing financial hardship

The Washington Post (9/18, A1, Rowland) reported, “In 2020, as the pandemic took hold, U.S. health insurance companies declared they would cover 100% of the costs for COVID treatment, waiving copays and expensive deductibles for hospital stays that frequently range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars,” but now “most insurers have reinstated copays and deductibles for COVID patients, in many cases even before vaccines became widely available.” Companies have “imposed the costs as industry profits remained strong or grew in 2020, with insurers paying out less to cover elective procedures that hospitals suspended during the crisis.” Because of the reinstatement of costs, “the financial burden of COVID is falling unevenly on patients across the country, varying widely by health-care plan and geography.”