At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, our top priority is to ensure the health and safety of our members. We understand you may have specific questions about your health care and coverage and we are here to support you every step of the way.
Virtual care is an excellent option if you need to seek the care of a physician at this time. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is recommending video visits to help avoid exposure to illness in the hospital or doctor’s office. Doctor On Demand, for example, provides access to board-certified physicians via video conferencing. You can connect via video from anywhere with internet access.
As a Blue Cross Medicare plan member, you can be assured that testing for COVID-19 is covered when medically necessary and appropriate. If you are diagnosed, necessary treatment will be covered according to your usual plan benefits.
Beyond that, Blue Cross will support any members diagnosed with COVID-19 with care management support. Care managers provide expert guidance when managing a medical condition, they can help explain your diagnosis, answer questions between doctor visits and help you manage your health.
If you take prescription medications, please be sure you have an adequate supply on hand. Blue Cross has waived early refill limits on prescription maintenance medications for members in plans that have Prime Therapeutics as the pharmacy benefits manager. We also encourage members to consider using 90-day mail order options for their prescriptions as available.
If you have questions about any of these options, please call the number on the back of your Blue Cross member ID card.
As the situation evolves, Blue Cross will continue to follow the developing guidance of local and federal health officials regarding the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). We are committed to providing you access to the newest information about COVID-19 and your Blue Cross coverage. Ongoing updates and information can be found at bluecrossmn.com/coronavirus.
The best resource for the most up-to-date public health information on COVID-19 is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). To help prevent the disease from spreading to others, see the list of recommendations from the CDC. Go to cdc.gov for more information.
For public health information specific to Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Health (health.state.mn.us) has resources to keep you up to date.
On behalf of all of our associates, I want to ensure our members that we will do all we can to prevent the spread of this virus and make health care treatment and services readily available.
Thank you for being a valued member of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mark Steffen
Vice President and Chief Medical Officer