Please see the following notice sent from Aetna regarding adding referrals electronically. This was posted on Friday and I haven’t seen an update that it’s been fixed.

Purpose:
We’d like to let you know about issues with our Referral Add transaction. The issue is limited to members with ID numbers beginning with “1010” or “1011.”

Overview:

We’re experiencing issues when Referral Add transactions are attempted for members with ID numbers beginning with “1010” or “1011.” We’re returning the error messages of “Unable to Respond” (AAA-42). In some instances, we’re incorrectly returning responses of “Out of Network” (AAA-35) or “Provider is Not a Primary Care Physician” (AAA-49).

We’ll send an updated communication once we’ve scheduled a fix for this issue.

As there’s no workaround to these issues, we ask that you post the following guidance for your clients:

• Primary care physicians: If the referral request rejects after several attempts, please direct the participating specialist to see the member as though a referral is on file. This issue should not prevent the member’s ability to seek care from participating specialists during this time.
• Participating specialists: If you’re participating in the member’s plan, try to inquire on a member’s referral. If you’re unable to find a referral, please see the member as though a referral is on file. When we receive the claim, we’ll adjudicate the claim as though the referral was on file. Contact the Member Services telephone number on the member’s ID card for help.

UHC posted this on their site a couple of days ago. Apparently they’re waiving all copays, deductibles, etc for Covid-19 services until 5/31

COVID-19 Treatment Update

The health of our members and supporting those who deliver care are our top priorities, and UnitedHealthcare is taking additional steps to provide support during this challenging time.

UnitedHealthcare is waiving member cost sharing for the treatment of COVID-19 until May 31, 2020 for its Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Individual and Group Market fully insured health plans. We will also work with self-funded customers who want us to implement a similar approach on their behalf.

If a member receives treatment under a COVID-19 admission or diagnosis code between Feb. 4, 2020 and May 31, 2020, we will waive cost sharing (co-pays, coinsurance and deductibles) for the following:

• Office visits
• Urgent care visits
• Emergency department visits
• Observation stays
• Inpatient hospital episodes 
• Acute inpatient rehab
• Long-term acute care
• Skilled nursing facilities

This includes in-network and out-of-network providers. When available, we will also waive cost-share for medications which are FDA-approved for COVID-19 treatment.

During the COVID-19 health emergency, we’re working to provide resources and streamline processes so that health care professionals can focus on delivering care.

To address the short-term financial pressure caused by the COVID-19 emergency, UnitedHealth Group, through UnitedHealthcare and Optum, is taking steps immediately to accelerate nearly $2 billion in paymentsand other financial support to health care providers in our Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Individual and Group Market fully insured health plans. The announcement was featured in a Wall Street Journal article.

As part of our commitment to supporting you in this challenging time, we’re eliminating many non-essential administrative requests, such as surveys and data requests. We’re committed to business continuity and being there to assist you – all self-service capabilities are available, our call center is staffed and claims are being processed so you have the support you need.

This site outlines updates specific to COVID-19 as well as information on any changes to our standard business protocols. We’re monitoring the COVID-19 health emergency closely and updating this site with new information as it’s available. Be sure to check back frequently for updates.

Optum Behavioral Health will be eliminating cost shares related to virtual visits for Covid 19. Please see the announcement they released yesterday:

RE: EDI 271 Update to COVID-19 Virtual Visits for Behavioral Health Members

ISSUE:

United Behavioral Health (dba Optum Behavioral Health) is eliminating the cost share for virtual visits related to COVID-19.

ACTION BY UNITEDHEALTHCARE:

Effective 4/3/2020, EDI 271 responses for this payer will indicate a $0 member cost share for copay, deductible and coinsurance.

Example:

EB*A*IND*A6***27**0****Y~

MSG*VIRTUAL VISITS/TELEMEDICINE

Aetna just sent out the following message:

Overview:

Eligibility and Benefits Inquiry (270/271):

We’ll make the following change:

• To support our policies regarding member access to telemedicine and diagnostic testing in response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), we’re adding the following messages to our Eligibility and Benefits Inquiry responses:
  • Telemedicine cost share
    • Medicare Advantage Plans – While the COVID-19 public health emergency is in effect, there is no cost share for a Medicare member for covered Telemedicine services performed by a PARTICIPATING provider only. Cost share is required if a member sees a non-par provider.
    • Commercial Plans – There is no cost share for a Commercial member for covered Telemedicine services regardless of provider’s participating status with the plan.
  • Diagnostic
    • All Plans – While the COVID-19 public health emergency is in effect, there is no cost share for the member for all COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic testing performed in an approved laboratory location.

These messages will be available to providers on March 28, 2020. Providers will be able to see these messages when they submit an Eligibility and Benefits Inquiry transaction with any service type code.