It’s funny how Trump is able to get things done without Congress passing restrictive laws and forcing
companies to do things.
It was reported on Tuesday [1] that major private insurance companies who met with the Trump
administration agreed to waive all copays on coronavirus testing and to extend coverage for
coronavirus treatment in all of their benefit plans.
The insurance companies at the meeting included BlueCross BlueShield, Anthem, Cigma,
UnitedHealth Group, and Humana.
Pence also said that the CEOs agreed to no surprise billing. He talked about the testing kits as well.
He said, “We want people to get tested. Over a million tests are out, thanks to the diligent work of
CDC and HHS. More than 4 million will go out this week. You’ve (Trump) worked with commercial
labs to expand testing, and that will continue to increase by the day. But we want the American
people to know that they are covered through private insurance. They are covered through Medicare
and Medicaid.”
Justine Handelman, Senior Vice President, Office of Policy and Representation with BlueCross
BlueShield said at the press conference, “On behalf of the 36 independent BlueCross BlueShield
plans that insure one in three Americans, we’re pleased to make sure that people have access to the
test, to the coverage that they need. II also want you to know that the commitments we’ve made also
apply to the federal employees program where we insure over 5 million employees.”
The president urged everyone to continue to be vigilant and careful but to also be calm.
On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters, “Pandemic is not a word to use
lightly or carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified
acceptance that the right is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.”
Also on Wednesday, President Trump during his address to the nation from the Oval Office, banned
travel from Europe for 30 days. Additionally, he said he was instructing the SBA to provide liquidity
and capital to small businesses in the form of low-interest loans and he allow some people to defer
tax payments. He also called on Congress for payroll tax relief and asked for bipartisanship during the
crisis.
The United States currently has 30 deaths and 1110 cases reported according to Johns Hopkins. [2]