The Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and the Treasury have released FAQ guidance clarifying various COVID-19 related issues, including how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) nondiscrimination and Affordable Care Act (ACA) affordability rules apply to COVID-19 vaccination coverage and incentive requirements.1
The FAQ guidance clarifies that group health plans must now cover a COVID-19 vaccine and its administration, without cost sharing, immediately once it becomes authorized under an emergency use authorization (EUA) or approved under a Biologics License Application (BLA). The coverage must follow the scope of the EUA or BLA, including any amendments, such as those that allow for additional doses to be administered to certain individuals, booster doses, or an expanding age demographic for whom the vaccine is authorized or approved.
The FAQ guidance confirms that:
1 See “Compliance Q&A: COVID-19 vaccine and testing mandates, incentives,“ Insider, September 2021, for more information.
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Insider October 2021 | .3 MB |