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HEALTH INSURANCE:
It is always important to understand your health insurance policy, but with the potential for an increased demand for health care services, you need to be even more aware of your specific plan details. Take a few minutes to read your policy carefully in order to answer the following questions:
1. Is the vaccination covered by my insurance?
- The seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 flu vaccine will be administered
separately. The federal government is providing the H1N1 vaccine at no
cost, however check with your insurance company to see if there will be an
administration fee.
2. Do I have a cost-sharing responsibility for the vaccinations?
- Many health insurance policies have co-payments for yearly flu vaccinations. Ask your insurance company if you will have a co-pay for the H1N1 vaccine and what the cost will be.
3. If an office visit is required to obtain the vaccinations, does it require a separate co-payment?
- Ask your insurance company if you will have a co-pay for the office visit.
4. Does your policy require a pre-authorization for hospital admission or other services?
- Ask your insurance company if a pre-authorization will be required under these circumstances.
5. What is your co-payment for the most common H1N1 treatments?
- The two drugs doctors can prescribe to treat H1N1 flu are Tamiflu and Relenza. In addition, you should know of any limitations on the number of doses covered by your policy - per prescription or per year.
6. Is your coverage accepted at walk-in care facilities?
- If your area is heavily affected by the spread of the H1N1 flu outbreak, your regular physician might not be able to see you in a timely manner. Check with your insurance company to see if your coverage would be accepted at area walk-in care facilities.
7. What is your out-of-network co-payment?
- If you must go to an out-of-network provider, be aware you will likely pay a higher co-payment for your office visit and any tests run during the visit.
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION INSURANCE:
- Business owners might be concerned about having to shut down their operations due to an outbreak or absenteeism. Check your business interruption policy to see what eventualities will trigger coverage under your plan. Coverage generally requires the interruption to be caused by physical damage or loss (e.g., fire or weather). Business interruption policies generally will not be triggered by epidemic or pandemic warnings or alerts from public officials. Business owners will need to rely on existing risk management and business continuity plans to mitigate losses due to emerging public health crises.
OTHER RESOURCES:
 Adobe Acrobat Reader format. You can download a free reader from Adobe.
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