CA Wildfires: Health Insurance Carrier Resources
Our hearts go out to those who have been affected by the recent California wildfires. We wanted to pass along a couple resources that might be of assistance during this time:
Remote Medical Care:
When you are away from home, seeking medical care can be difficult, especially if your doctor’s office is also in the evacuation zone. Most carriers now offer phone or video appointments at a cost similar to your normal appointment copay. If you’re a current client wondering about these services with your specific carrier, contact us at Help@benefitexperts.com and we can get you the details.
Teladoc is also offering appointments for those in the evacuation zone free of charge (regardless of insurance). Details here.
A few carriers have also enacted specific resources due to the fires…
Here’s an overview of what they’re doing:
Blue Shield:
- Allowing for immediate prescription refill for those in evacuation zones
- Offering free counseling services through a hotline: 1.800.327.7451
- Blue Shield vision members can use out of network providers as needed and the claims will be reimbursed as in-network
- More info here.
United Healthcare:
- Allowing for immediate prescription refill for those in evacuation zones
- Offering a free emotional support hotline: 866.342.6892
- More info here.
Anthem:
- Relaxing time limits for prior authorization, pre-certification and referral requirements
- Suspending early refill limits for prescriptions
- Allowing replacement of medical equipment
- Offering EAP access at no cost
- More info here.
Kaiser:
- Allowing members to go to any Kaiser facility for care (any region) if they have been displaced from their home
- Offering replacements for lost or damaged prescriptions or durable medical equipment
- More info here.
If you have been effected by this disaster and your insurance is with a carrier not listed, or you have other questions about resources available to you, feel free to contact us: Help@benefitexperts.com