TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - Many Arizona residents have raised concerns about how long insurance providers will cover video visits and telephone calls to doctors - instead of face-to-face interactions - during the pandemic.
The rate of infection in Arizona is still rising and there is no vaccine, so many have received doctors’ advice or therapists’ help virtually, a method commonly known as telemedicine or telehealth, the Arizona Daily Star reported.
Resident Melinda Parris has a weakened immune system after undergoing cancer treatment and she has expressed concern after now being required to renew her 30-day pain medication prescription in-person.
She was previously able to use video appointments for pain medications in April, but some of her doctors have stopped offering the service, she said.
Some providers have announced telemedicine visits will end sometime in July, others have extended visits until the end of September.
“Cigna has no plans to end coverage for telehealth,” Public Relations Senior Advisor Mark Slitt said. “In fact, we have been expanding telehealth coverage to include behavioral health and dental care, and we have been collaborating with a variety of virtual providers nationally and in specific states.”
Aetna and United Healthcare have also extended their telemedicine coverage through September.
Mothers like Sara Nixon-Kirschner and Dianne Westfall have raised concerns about the uncertainty, because telemedicine has kept their families safe during the pandemic. Both live in Tucson with young children who require medical care and therapies.
Nixon-Kirschner’s daughter Rosie, 4, has a genetic disorder called Koolen-de Vries syndrome and has been receiving speech therapy.
“We would love to be in the same room as our therapist,” Nixon-Kirschner said, adding that she is grateful her daughter can still receive therapy. If it was not offered, “I don’t know what we would do.”
Westfall’s daughter Maddie, 3, has a rare chromosomal disorder called Cri du Chat syndrome that forced their family to take precautions before COVID-19.
“We’ve always acted like flu season was a pandemic,” she said. “We self-isolate and wear masks every year.”
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. But for some - especially older adults and people with existing health problems - it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.
Telemedicine has been helpful for physicians who collect a service fee, as it has enabled them to continue their practice, officials said. Virtual appointments cost less, since there are no supplies being used, but they can also take longer.
Previously, telemedicine was not offered as regularly because of regulations imposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, but restrictions were loosened because of the pandemic.
While the method has made doctors more accessible, it has still posed some challenges across the country, American College of Physicians President Jacqueline Fincher said, adding that some older patients do not own or know how to operate the devices needed or have broadband issues.
Dr. Jeff Couchman, a pediatrician in Tucson, argued telemedicine is not as efficient. “I can’t schedule as many patients in a day,” he said.
Fincher’s organization has pushed for continuing pay parity for telemedicine and face-to-face visits until at least the end of 2021.
“That’s because the COVID-19 virus will continue to have major impact on patients and physicians ability to have face-to-face visits as the virus waxes and wanes over the next 18 months,” she said.
“Until we have an effective vaccine that is widely distributed and taken by the public and effective treatment if one gets COVID, then we will still be stuck with social distancing, masks and limited face-to-face visits, especially for routine, chronic or preventive visits.”
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