Mayor Orders Payers to Cover More COVID-19 Testing August 25, 2020

Recognizing the importance of robust testing, today Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking (DISB) issued an order requiring health insurers to cover the cost of COVID-19 testing for more categories of at-risk individuals.

The measure, seen here, requires all carriers offering health plans in the District to "cover testing to diagnose COVID-19 for individuals who meet the standards" defined by DC Health. People seeking tests will not require prior authorization or a referral from a physician to receive a test and have it covered by their insurance. However, the mandate does not extend to covering a test to an employee returning to the office after telework, though it does encourage such coverage. 

Prior to today, DISB had required payers to cover tests that fell under CDC guidance for testing. Now, insurers must cover one COVID-19 test per week for some asymptomatic people in high-risk settings, are at-risk for complications, or have been exposed to a recently diagnosed person. 

1/ Today, I mandated that all DC-licensed health insurers cover COVID-19 testing with no cost sharing for certain high-risk residents. This requirement, to be administered through @DCDISB, runs through the duration of the public health emergency.

— Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) August 25, 2020