Published on
Thursday, June 25, 2020
byCommon Dreams
'Free Handout to Insurance Industry': Trump Administration Tells Insurers
They Don't Have to Cover Covid-19 Tests for Workers
"According to the Trump administration, insurance company profits are more
important than the lives of nursing home residents and workers."
byJake Johnson, staff writer
Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a briefing on the administration's
coronavirus response in the press briefing room of the White House on March
2, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The Trump administration issued policy guidance this week telling health
insurance companies that they are not required by law to cover the Covid-19
tests employers may compel workers to undergo as a condition for returning
to their jobs.
The announcement (pdf) Tuesday by the Departments of Treasury, Labor, and
Health and Human Services alarmed healthcare advocates and lawmakers who
warned the move gives profitable insurers a green light to push the costs of
potentially expensive coronavirus screenings onto workers.
"Once again, the Trump administration is prioritizing corporate profits over
people. I'm deeply concerned that this will disproportionately impact
frontline workers."
-Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act, a relief bill President Donald
Trump signed into law in March, includes a provision (pdf) mandating that
insurers and employer-provided plans cover "Covid-19 testing and related
services without cost-sharing."
But the Trump administration says in its guidance that the law only requires
insurers to cover "medically appropriate" coronavirus screenings, not tests
"conducted to screen for general workplace health and safety (such as
employee 'return to work' programs)."
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.) blasted the Trump administration's
interpretation of the law as a violation of congressional intent and "a free
handout to the insurance industry."
"Once again, the Trump administration is prioritizing corporate profits over
people," Pallone tweeted Wednesday. "I'm deeply concerned that this will
disproportionately impact frontline workers."
In April, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-a federal agency
tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws-said employers are legally
permitted to force employees to take Covid-19 viral tests to determine
whether it is safe for them to return to the workplace.
New York, New Jersey, and other states currently require nursing homes to
test employees to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in their facilities, which
have been devastating hot-spots for the virus.
The New York Times reported earlier this month that some nursing homes say
they can't afford to pay for the testing and have tried to bill insurance
companies for the costs. But not all insurance companies have agreed to
cover Covid-19 testing, leaving workers on the hook for the bill.
Shikilia Davis, a nursing home worker in Long Island, told the Times that
she was sent home by her employer one day after she refused to hand over her
insurance card before getting tested. Davis said she feared being hit with
the costs because her insurer has declined to cover coronavirus screenings.
"This is a bill I do not want to get stuck with," said Davis. "I don't have
money lying around."
As consumer advocacy group Public Citizen documented in a report last month,
"the vast majority of the largest health insurers" in the U.S. have
temporarily waived some costs for Covid-19 testing and treatment.
"But these fee waivers contain significant restrictions and most are set to
expire long before the pandemic can reasonably be expected to end," the
report noted.
"In some cases, the insurers' statements of testing-related benefits appear
less sweeping than Congress required," the report continued. "Some of the
insurers' statements only promise to cover testing-related costs through
certain dates. Other statements suggest a more restrictive universe of
covered tests than the legislation calls for. Meanwhile, most of do not
clearly warn members that they might be subject to costs if they see
out-of-network providers."
Public Citizen argued that the best way to ensure everyone is able to
receive the Covid-19 testing and treatment they need is by implementing
Medicare for All, which the group describes as "the most sensible way to
untangle the thicket of our healthcare system, protect Americans from
crushing costs, and create a healthier and more productive society."
"Under Medicare for All," the group said, "nobody would have to worry about
falling through the cracks of a broken healthcare system and facing
financial ruin."
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