Yahoo Finance Anthem (ANTM) Issues Policies for Safe Coronavirus Testing
Anthem, Inc. ANTM has designed certain policies and declared resources and updates so that patients can be taken care of more efficiently by providers. These necessary steps are aimed at boosting precautionary measures taken to limit the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and to reduce the stress on individuals and the healthcare system of the nation.
As part of the policies, prior authorization requirements for patient transfers and use of medical equipment critical to COVID-19 treatment have terminated. Anthem will cover respiratory services for acute treatment of COVID-19 along with in-network and out-of-network coverage for related laboratory testing.
Anthem will further adjust handling and monitoring of claims and audits to lessen the administrative demand on providers.
The company will provide access to virtual care via its Sydney mobile care app in a bid to provide its members to easily asses their symptoms and the risk of having COVID-19. According to the results, the members of Anthem can consult a doctor through the Sydney Care app who can then recommend care options.
Further, Anthem’s affiliated health plans will carry out the changes which includes, access to testing and medical care and medication.
The affiliated health plans of Anthem will continue to waive coinsurance and deductibles for the diagnostic test related to COVID-19. Further, this will be extended to include waiver of coinsurance and deductibles for visits associated with in-network COVID-19 testing.
Anthem has allowed early prescription refill limits for members who wish to receive a 30-day supply of most maintenance medications, where it is accessible.
Shares of this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) medical HMO have lost 22.7% in a year’s time, compared with the industry's decline of 4.8%. However, factors like an improving top line and a solid capital deployment are likely to help the stock bounce back going forward.
Stocks to Consider
Some better-ranked stocks in the same space include The Joint Corp. JYNT, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH and Select Medical Holdings Corporation SEM, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
The Joint Corp and UnitedHealth Group surpassed estimates in the last four quarters, delivering positive surprise of 173.96% and 3.65% on average, respectively.
Select Medical surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters, the positive surprise being 24.82%, on average.
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UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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