Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska is here to support members, employers, and healthcare providers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
Updates as of January 13, 2021
- New information about COVID-19 vaccine availability and administration is now posted in the section on COVID-19 Vaccines, which includes information on approvals and tentative phases of distribution.
- In order to administer COVID vaccines, providers must qualify and enroll as a mass immunizer (or other Medicare provider type that allows billing for administering vaccines). You may also need to enroll in the federal COVID-19 Vaccination Program coordinated through Alaska’s immunization program. There are specific codes assigned to each available vaccine, which are required for reimbursement for administration of the vaccine.
- Premera is waiving cost shares for all COVID-19 related testing and treatment. Learn more.
Get all the latest COVID-19 updates from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
If you have health plan questions not covered in these resources, call Premera’s customer service team at the number on the back of the member ID card, or your provider network team. Every question will be answered as soon as possible.
We’ll be updating the following FAQ as additional information is available.
COVID-19 key dates
COVID-19 Coverage Note: See related section for more information about health plan coverage. |
End Date |
Cost share waivers for FDA-approved COVID-19 diagnostic testing other virus/respiratory testing tied to a COVID-19 diagnosis (Federal families First Act and Alaska DOI mandate) |
April 21, 2021 |
Antibody tests covered only when they are for the purpose of diagnosing a COVID-19 related condition. (CDC and EEOC guidelines) |
Policy effective July 1, 2020 |
Cost share waivers for treatment related to COVID-19 diagnosis is waived (Premera initiative) |
March 31, 2021 |
Cost share waivers for telehealth/virtual care visits (Premera initiative) |
December 31, 2020 |
Waiver of requirements for:
- Preauthorization for Medical Services
- Concurrent Review for Inpatient Hospital Services
- Preauthorization Post-Acute Placements
- Retrospective Review for Inpatient and
Outpatient Services and Emergency Services and Payment of Claims (Alaska
State DOI mandate)
|
November 17, 2020 through January 15, 2021 |
Applied behavioral analysis (ABA) available through telehealth |
March 31, 2021 |
PHP and IOP available through telehealth became policy:
- Partial hospitalization programs (PHP) for mental health and substance use disorders
- Intensive outpatient programs (IOP) for mental health and substance use disorders
- Telehealth policy updated to allow ongoing coverage effective January 1, 2021.
|
Policy effective January 1, 2021 |
Prescription “refill too soon” override (Premera initiative) |
March 31, 2021 |
Allowance for certain procedures to be handled through tele-dentistry (Premera initiative) |
March 31, 2021 |
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) separately billed PPE charges will not be allowed |
Policy effective November 1, 2020 |
COVID-19 vaccines
Note: We’re updating our vaccine FAQs as information becomes available. Information about vaccines and distribution will continue to evolve. We anticipate that broad scale vaccination across our populations (those not in the first few phases) will likely not be until mid-2021.