As insurers move this week to stop waiving telehealth copays, patients may have to pay more for virtual care
Starting Oct. 1, several private health insurers will no longer fully pay for virtual visits under certain circumstances — effectively reinstituting costs for patients reliant on the virtual care that has been heralded as a lifeline at a time when Covid-19 is still killing more than 700 Americans each day.
The insurance giant UnitedHealthcare is ending a “virtual visit” benefit that had been expanded to many members during the Covid-19 pandemic, through which it was covering the full cost of visits — without any cost to patients — for individuals who were seeing in-network providers virtually for medical issues not related to Covid-19. (Asked by STAT for details, a UHC spokesperson pointed to a page on the company’s website.)
