Health insurers Cigna, Humana waive out-of-pocket costs for coronavirus treatment

Two major U.S. health insurers, Cigna and Humana, are waiving all out-of-pocket costs for coronavirus treatments nationwide.

“Two of the country’s largest health insurers, Humana and Cigna, are announcing that they will waive co-pays, which is a big deal. For anybody who understands insurance, they don’t waive co-pays easily, but we’ve asked them to do it, and they’ve done it,” Trump announced at a Sunday press briefing in the Rose Garden.

The news was later confirmed by the CEOs of the two companies in a joint interview with Bloomberg. Cigna CEO David Cordani and Humana CEO Bruce Broussard told the news outlet they would take steps to avoid patients being dissuaded from seeking treatment due to cost or concerns that doctors or hospitals were not covered by their health insurance.

“We’re stepping in as aggressively as we can to support care access and peace of mind,” Cordani said.

The two reportedly declined to answer how the coronavirus outbreak, which has infected more than 130,000 in the U.S., would affect their business or the broader health care industry in the months ahead.

Press representatives for Cigna and Humana did not immediately return requests for comment on the president’s remarks.