Cassandra Labbees, Member of the Firm in the Employee Benefits practice, in the firm’s New York office, was quoted in Modern Healthcare, in “Cigna Extends Free Coronavirus Tests to Self-Funded Employer Plans,” by Shelby Livingston. (Read the full version – subscription required.)
Following is an excerpt:
Cigna is signing up its self-insured employer clients for a program that waives cost-sharing for coronavirus medical testing. Meanwhile, legislation was introduced to require employers to cover cost-sharing for the test.
The potential costs for the testing and treatment of coronavirus could deter some Americans from seeking medical care, public health experts worry. Several states, including New York and Washington, have moved to tackle one of those issues by ordering health insurers to waive out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 medical tests and certain other services. …
Business groups and benefits lawyers say employers plan to cover coronavirus testing and are interested in waiving cost-sharing for the tests, though it’s unclear if many employers have moved to do so. …
Cassandra Labbees, a partner in the employee benefits practice at law firm Epstein Becker & Green, said states’ decisions to order insurers to cover copays for tests has put pressure on employers to do the same.
