Helping Our Health Care Community on the Front Lines of COVID-19

Independence has launched a range of clinical and business initiatives since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to address the key needs of the health care community on the frontlines of fighting the coronavirus. Refer to this page for important updates as we navigate this unprecedented situation together.

Delivering care

Providing greater access. To ensure you can continue to deliver high-quality care to your patients, we are:

  • Expanding use of telemedicine for primary care and specialty care doctors, therapists (occupational, physical, speech), nutritional counselors, and behavioral health specialists with reimbursement at in-office visit rates.
  • Supporting preventive well visits for Commercial members and annual wellness visits for Medicare Advantage members via telemedicine (visits are eligible for reimbursement and require audio and visual capabilities).
  • Offering free COVID-19 testing for patients at in-network physician offices, urgent care centers, emergency rooms, drive-thru testing sites, pharmacies, and by home health agencies (Medicare Advantage members may use out-of-network locations and home health agencies).
  • Covering in-network, inpatient, acute care treatment for COVID-19 treatment, medical, or behavioral health, with no-copays (for Medicare Advantage members, this includes out-of-network inpatient acute care treatment as well).
  • Waiving requirements that members must be homebound to receive COVID-19 testing at home by a visiting nurse.
  • Providing coverage for respiratory equipment and supplies.
  • Covering certain diagnostic (RT-PCR and antigen) and antibody tests, including COVID-19 tests that have been approved by the FDA or for which the developer has requested, or intends to request, Emergency Use Authorization for the COVID-19 pandemic. Note: These tests and the administration of them are covered when they are medically appropriate, ordered by a licensed health care provider, and performed at an approved health care setting.

Provider News Center. All the services we’ve made available to your patients can be found on our Provider News Center. This site is continually updated to provide reliable information on COVID-19 care and coverage. Visit the site.



Support for your business

Helping with administrative processes. To make it easier for you to care for your patients, we are:

  • Waiving prior authorizations for inpatient admissions to in-network facilities from an emergency department, as well as transfers to in-network post-acute facilities and the in-network transportation.
  • Extending prior authorizations for elective procedures by six months.
  • Lifting early refill restrictions on prescriptions.
  • Having individual and group conversations with many provider offices in our network to understand their challenges, communicate our ongoing efforts around COVID-19, and answer questions.

PEAR portal and IndexProTM. This new self-service reporting platform is available to providers who participate in our value-based programs. The tools give you a total picture of the patients you are serving, assist you in identifying trends and cost drivers, and helps you focus on improving your performance. Visit the site.



Working together

Working with the health care community and public health officials. Throughout the pandemic, we have been collaborating on several efforts.

  • Working with lab vendors to enhance regional access to testing
  • Launching a coalition of regional home care providers to develop common COVID-19 protocols and a shared capacity database


Staying informed

Legislative updates. Independence is working closely with state and federal agencies to understand new and pending legislation related to COVID-19 and how it affects health insurance coverage. Check out this summary of the current legislation and resources available within the CARES Act.

Check back often. As we continue to make changes to our normal business practices, we will keep you informed through this site and the Provider News Center.

Have a question about COVID-19? Ask us.



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