Includes all treatment, testing and vaccination costs
March 19, 2021 (Smithfield, RI) – Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (Neighborhood) continues to fully cover expenses related to COVID-19 treatment, as well as testing and vaccination. With other health plans in the state rolling back their COVID-19 coverage benefits to pre-pandemic levels, Neighborhood wants to assure its members and its providers that its current expansion of coverage related to COVID-19 will remain in place as long as Rhode Island is in a state of emergency due to the status of the pandemic.
“Most of Neighborhood’s members live in the communities hardest hit by the pandemic, and I want to assure our members that Neighborhood is, and will continue to be, here for them during these challenging, uncertain times,” said Peter Marino, president and chief executive officer of Neighborhood.
“We do not want there to be any confusion,” added Marino. “Neighborhood continues to cover 100 percent of any costs associated with COVID-19 testing, vaccination and treatment.”
In March 2020, Neighborhood began waiving all members’ out-of-pocket fees – including copays, deductibles and co-insurance – for treatment related to COVID-19 in all inpatient and outpatient settings. Additionally, there has been no expense to the member for testing or vaccination. For the past year, the health plan has also expanded its telemedicine coverage to include phone-only with no prior authorization or cost sharing fees, and has allowed for early prescription refills. Neighborhood implemented these changes to remove barriers to health care and ensure providers can effectively deliver treatment to their patients during this emergency.
These expanded benefits are in place for all Neighborhood health plans, which include Medicaid eligible children, adults and families; Medicare-Medicaid dual-eligible adults; and individuals, families and small businesses who purchased their health insurance through HealthSource RI, Rhode Island’s health insurance exchange.
Neighborhood’s membership is comprised of approximately 169,000 Medicaid members, 12,600 Medicare-Medicaid dual-eligible members, and 26,000 members who purchase their insurance through HealthSource RI. Neighborhood insures nearly 70,000 members in Providence and almost 10,000 in Central Falls—the two cities experiencing the highest number of COVID-19 cases and the most disproportionately affected by the pandemic according to the Rhode Island Department of Health.
ABOUT NEIGHBORHOOD
Neighborhood Health Plan of Rhode Island (Neighborhood) is a not-for-profit health maintenance organization (HMO) founded in December 1993 in partnership with Rhode Island’s Community Health Centers to ensure everyone in the state has access to high quality, cost-effective health care. Neighborhood serves approximately 208,000 members in the state with 82 percent of its membership Medicaid eligible through its ACCESS and TRUST plans and 6 percent of its membership utilizing Neighborhood’s INTEGRITY Medicare-Medicaid Plan (MMP). About 12 percent of Neighborhood’s members are individuals, families and small businesses who select one of eight Neighborhood commercial plans available through the health exchange, HealthSource RI. Of these members, about 85 percent qualify for federal subsidies to cover a portion of their costs. Today, Neighborhood—with over 500 employees and $1.4 billion in revenue—serves one out of every five Rhode Islanders. Learn more at nhpri.org