Hospitals Can’t Charge Uninsured Patients Treated for Virus: Azar (1)

Hospitals and health-care providers that accept federal money provided through the $2 trillion coronavirus spending package aren’t allowed to bill uninsured patients treated for Covid-19, HHS leader Alex Azar said Friday.

The providers will be reimbursed at Medicare rates, Azar said, which will be carved out of a $100 billion slice of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act that Congress passed in March.

When probed about re-opening enrollment for Affordable Care Act plans or potentially expanding Medicaid, Azar demurred. People who have recently lost their employer-provided health insurance can enroll through the ACA’s exchanges under the law’s ...