Humana to Waive Member Costs for all Primary Care and Behavioral Health Office Visits for Medicare Advantage Members, Delivers Safety Kits to Members

Today, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) announced additional actions to help protect, inform and care for its nearly 4.5 million Medicare Advantage members. During this time of uncertainty, Humana continues to invest in efforts to help people achieve their best health and that now includes waiving all cost sharing—including copays, coinsurance, and deductibles—for in-network primary care, behavioral health and telehealth visits for the remainder of the calendar year. The company is also proactively delivering safety kits to members’ homes, allowing them to access essential healthcare services safely and affordably.

The actions are part of the company’s Human Care approach to making the healthcare experience better, more personal and more caring. Starting with the decision in March to waive out-of-pocket costs related to COVID-19 treatment, Humana has led the way in easing the burden on its members and facilitating access to care.

These expanded cost share waivers are effective as of May 1 and will remain in place through the end of 2020. Members are encouraged to respect local shelter-in-place orders but when states begin to transition, this change will help ease any financial burden of seeing their doctor in person or continuing to use telehealth.

“At a time when so many Americans are focused on caring for others, we want our senior members, in particular, to know that Humana is here to care for them,” said Bruce Broussard, President and CEO of Humana. “We will continue to assist all of our members through this unprecedented health crisis by easing any financial burden of seeing their doctor and helping them to live safely in their communities.”

Today’s announcements, which are part of an ongoing program to support Humana members during this public health emergency, include:

• Eliminating out-of-pocket costs for office visits so that Medicare Advantage members can reconnect with their healthcare providers. While many members are successfully using telehealth, some are forgoing essential preventive and primary care services during this crisis. To reduce barriers, Humana is waiving in-network primary care costs, not only for COVID-19 costs, but all primary care visits for the rest of 2020. In addition, the company is waiving member costs for outpatient, non-facility based behavioral health visits through the end of year. Behavioral health issues, like depression, may be exacerbated because of the pandemic and are important to flag and treat.