{"id":11695,"date":"2020-08-19T16:41:17","date_gmt":"2020-08-19T11:11:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/?p=11695"},"modified":"2020-08-19T16:44:53","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T11:14:53","slug":"hrsa-uninsured-covid-19-program-how-to-verify-patient-eligibility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/hrsa-uninsured-covid-19-program-how-to-verify-patient-eligibility\/","title":{"rendered":"HRSA Uninsured COVID-19 Program: How to Verify Patient Eligibility?"},"content":{"rendered":"

HRSA Uninsured COVID-19 Program<\/h3>\n

The COVID-19 Uninsured Program portal is opened by HRSA<\/a>. Providers who have conducted COVID-19 testing or provided treatment for uninsured individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis on or after February 4, 2020, can start to file claims for reimbursement for testing and treating the uninsured.<\/p>\n

As part of the FFCRA, PPPHCEA, and CARES Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), will provide claims reimbursement to health care providers generally at Medicare rates for testing uninsured individuals for COVID-19 and treating uninsured individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Physicians and other health care providers are true heroes – especially during the COVID-19 outbreak \u2013 and HHS is grateful for their continued dedication.<\/p>\n

Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act<\/h3>\n

In April, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced that a portion of the $100 billion CARES Act Provider Relief Fund would be used for healthcare-related expenses attributable to the treatment of uninsured individuals with COVID-19.<\/p>\n

Families First Coronavirus Response Act or FFCRA<\/h3>\n

$1 billion from the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) is being used to reimburse providers for conducting COVID-19 testing for the uninsured.<\/p>\n

Health care providers who have conducted COVID-19 testing or provided treatment for uninsured individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis on or after February 4, 2020, can request claims reimbursement through the program electronically and will be reimbursed generally at Medicare rates, subject to available funding, via direct deposit.<\/p>\n

Verify Patient Eligibility for Uninsured COVID-19 Program<\/h3>\n

The requirement to verify an uninsured patient\u2019s eligibility status can be quite difficult for the provider without the help of an insurance verification tool. Some payer sites are costly for manual check and it also slows the patient registration and pre-billing process of providers. This becomes hectic when there are numerous variations in testing sites that have emerged across the USA to meet the surge created by the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

For patient registration, the patient\u2019s insurance information required at the time of service. It would be difficult, however, to emphasize that this meets the program requirement of verifying that the patient does not have insurance coverage<\/strong> through an individual, or employer-sponsored<\/strong> plan, a federal health care program and that no other payer will reimburse for the COVID-19 testing<\/strong> and\/or care for that patient<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Insurance Discovery Tools<\/h3>\n

ZOLL\u00ae AR Boost™<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Insurance discovery tool; that<\/p>\n