Life Sciences - updated on Jul 13 at 11:38 am
TESTING FOR THE NOVEL CORONAVIRUS IS OF MANDATORY COVERAGE BY HEALTH PLANS
As of the publication of Normative Resolutions No. 453/2020, No. 457/2020 and N. 458/2020, of the National Supplementary Health Agency (ANS), diagnostic exams related to the novel Coronavirus (COVID- 19) became of mandatory coverage by health plans that operate in the country.
According to information made available on the ANS website, the physician who indicates the need for the examination must guide the patient to seek his health plan operator so that it indicates a health establishment (of the accredited network) able to perform the examination. In this sense, it will be up to each operator to define the best flow for serving its beneficiaries.
The last time that a procedure was extraordinarily included in the coverage list of health plans, changing the List of Procedures and Events in Health, was in 2016, during the outbreak of the zika virus in Brazil, through Resolution RN No. 407/2016 (RN 407/2016).
Unlike RN 407/2016, which established a 30-day vacatio legis period, Resolutions No. 453/2020, No. 457/2020 and N. 458/2020, came into force on the dates of their respective publications, without, therefore, an adequacy period for operators to prepare for the new rule.