Communication to DC Health Link Customers

Friday, March 6, 2020

As we continue to monitor and learn more about the spread of the coronavirus, we want to share helpful information to ensure that you and your family can protect yourselves against the disease.

For the last month our team has been working on COVID-19 Coronavirus preparedness. I wanted to share with you what we are focusing on. Pandemics are not new, and what’s important is to be prepared. We are fully engaged on multiple fronts. Our focus is to be fully prepared in case we need to activate contingency plans to address spread, containment, and mitigation of the Coronavirus in DC. Our priority is to make sure that:

  • DC Health Link customers can get the care they need.
  • Insurance companies that offer health plans on DC Health Link have business operations plans to continue to provide services to enrollees.
  • DC Health Link can continue to provide critical services to people enrolled or who need to enroll.

We are working with health insurers on DC Health Link and coordinating with the Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking to ensure that all DC Health Link customers can access necessary care, are not penalized if required to get care from non-network providers in an emergency, and do not lose their coverage. From my previous experience during the H1N1 pandemic, I learned that health insurance companies handle public health emergencies very well. That continues to be the case now. I have included some links to important information:

Health plans update this information frequently as CDC guidelines change. Please check these links (your plan’s website) to get the latest information. In terms of DC Health Link preparedness, our continuity of operations plan is in place and tested. Pursuant to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Executive Order on disaster preparedness, we tested our plan and made improvements as necessary to the plan based on results of live exercises. We also made additional investments in infrastructure to further ensure remote access. In addition, we are putting in place enhanced staffing contingency plans. We are working with many local and federal government agencies, insurance companies and community partners to help execute a comprehensive response and ensure that our customer get the information and care they need.

Sincerely,
Mila Kofman
Executive Director, DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority