Private insurer actions urged to support COVID-19 challenge

The AHA yesterday urged leaders from the nation's five largest private health insurance companies — Aetna, Anthem, Humana, Cigna and UnitedHealthCare — and organizations that represent insurers (America’s Health Insurance Plans and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association) to join hospitals and health systems to "meet the historic challenge" caused by COVID-19 to "ensure that the health care system is there for anyone who needs care."

Specifically, AHA asked private insurers to:

• support stable cash flow by allowing providers to opt into periodic interim payments and/or accelerated payments for the duration of the public health emergency, much like what is available through the Medicare program;

• eliminate administrative processes that cause delays in payment, such as prior authorization and certain payment edits;
• provide adequate coverage and reimbursement of services in hospitals and alternative sites of care, including by covering cost-sharing for COVID-19 treatment; and
• expedite processing of outstanding claims that have resulted in billions of dollars in accounts receivables.