Optima Health Waives Costs For Treatment Of COVID-19

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., April 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Optima Health announces that it is waiving member cost-sharing for the treatment of COVID-19. This expanded benefit improves our members' ability to seek affordable and reliable care, while keeping our communities safe. 

"We continue to remove barriers to healthcare for members during this pandemic; no one should have to choose between receiving care for COVID-19 and their financial well-being," said Dennis Matheis, president of Optima Health Plan and executive vice president of Sentara Healthcare. "We encourage everyone to diligently follow the recommended steps to stay healthy and send a special thank you to all health care providers who are on the front lines of our fight against this virus."

Optima Health waives cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment

Optima Health is waiving member cost-sharing for the treatment of COVID-19 from health care providers from April 1 through June 7, 2020 for its fully-insured Commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid plans.  This is in addition to our previous announcements to waive member cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing and testing-related visits, and telehealth visits.  Optima Health will work with self-funded employers who wish to implement a similar benefit for their employees. 

In summary, effective now through June 7, Optima Health is providing the following benefits at no cost to members (i.e., no member co-pays or cost-share) for in-network providers and labs for all lines of business and participating self-funded groups:

• Treatment of COVID-19.
• COVID-19 diagnostic testing and testing-related visits.
• Telehealth visits, for all reasons. Please visit optimahealth.com/mdlive to connect to providers.
• Phone visits for participating, in-network healthcare providers.

Reminder of pharmacy benefit changes

As previously announced, Optima Health has relaxed pharmacy benefits to ensure members have prescriptions on-hand. Members:

• May fill prescriptions earlier than normal without penalty.
• Can contact their provider to evaluate and replace 30-day supplies of medications with 90-day supplies.
• Should consider, depending on their plan, home delivery options for prescriptions as a way to comply with social distancing guidelines. To learn how to order, visit optimahealth.com/covid-19. 

Coronavirus Screening Assessment Tool

Optima Health now has a web-based, interactive questionnaire to help people decide if they should seek medical attention based on their risk level for COVID-19. The tool can be found on any page of optimahealth.com by clicking the 'Coronavirus Assessment Tool.'

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. To learn more about Optima Health and its COVID-19 programs, please visit optimahealth.com/covid19.

About Optima Health
Optima Health, based in Virginia, provides health insurance coverage to more than 560,000 members. With more than 35 years of experience, Optima Health offers a suite of commercial products including consumer-directed, employee-owned and employer-sponsored plans, individual health plans, employee assistance programs and plans serving Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. Its provider network features approximately 30,000 providers including specialists, primary care physicians and hospitals across Virginia. Optima Health also offers programs to support members with chronic illnesses, customized wellness programs and integrated clinical and behavioral health services, as well as pharmacy management—all to help members improve their health every day. The company's goals are to provide better health, be easy to use and offer services that are a great value. Optima Health is a service of Sentara Healthcare. To learn more about Optima Health, visit www.optimahealth.com.

SOURCE Optima Health