FAQS ABOUT FAMILIES FIRST CORONAVIRUS 
RESPONSE ACT AND CORONAVIRUS AID, 
RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT 
IMPLEMENTATION PART 44 
 
February 26, 2021 
 
 
Set out below are Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding implementation of the Families 
First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 
Act (CARES Act), and other health coverage issues related to coronavirus disease 2019 
(COVID-19). These FAQs have been prepared jointly by the Departments of Labor, Health and 
Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury (collectively, the Departments). Like previously issued 
FAQs (available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ebsa/laws-and-regulations/laws/affordable-
care-act/for-employersand-advisers/aca-implementation-faqs and 
http://www.cms.gov/cciio/resources/fact-sheets-and-faqs/index.html), these FAQs answer 
questions from stakeholders to help people understand the law and benefit from it, as intended.  
 
The FFCRA and the CARES Act  
 
COVID-19 Diagnostic Testing  
 
The FFCRA was enacted on March 18, 2020.1 Section 6001 of the FFCRA generally requires 
group health plans and health insurance issuers offering group or individual health insurance 
coverage, including grandfathered health plans, to provide benefits for certain items and services 
related to testing for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19, or 
the diagnosis of COVID-19 when those items or services are furnished on or after March 18, 
2020, and during the applicable emergency period.2 Under the FFCRA, plans and issuers must 
                                                           
1 Pub. L. No. 116-127 (2020). 
2 On January 31, 2020, HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar II declared that as of January 27, 2020, a public health 
emergency exists nationwide as the result of the 2019 novel coronavirus. See HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary 
for Preparedness and Response, Determination of the HHS Secretary that a Public Health Emergency Exists, 
available at https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/2019-nCoV.aspx. On January 7, 2021, 
the HHS Secretary renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency declaration, effective January 21, 2021, that 
was previously renewed on April 21, 2020, July 23, 2020, and October 2, 2020. See HHS Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Renewal of Determination That A Public Health Emergency Exists, 
available at https://www.phe.gov/emergency/news/healthactions/phe/Pages/covid19-07Jan2021.aspx. The Secretary 
may extend the public health emergency declaration for subsequent 90-day periods for as long as the public health 
emergency continues to exist, and may terminate the declaration whenever he determines that the public health 
emergency has ceased to exist. On January 22, 2021, Acting HHS Secretary Norris Cochran sent a letter to 
governors announcing that HHS has determined that the public health emergency will likely remain in place for the 
1  provide this coverage without imposing any cost-sharing requirements (including deductibles, 
copayments, and coinsurance), prior authorization, or other medical management requirements.  
 
The CARES Act was enacted on March 27, 2020.3 Section 3201 of the CARES Act amended 
section 6001 of the FFCRA to include a broader range of diagnostic items and services that plans 
and issuers must cover without any cost-sharing requirements, prior authorization, or other 
medical management requirements. Section 3202(a) of the CARES Act generally requires plans 
and issuers providing coverage for these items and services to reimburse any provider of 
COVID-19 diagnostic testing an amount that equals the negotiated rate or, if the plan or issuer 
does not have a negotiated rate with the provider, the cash price for such service that is listed by 
the provider on a public website. (The plan or issuer may negotiate a rate with the provider that 
is lower than the cash price.) Additionally, during the public health emergency related to 
COVID-19 declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act (PHS Act) (referred to in 
this document as the PHE for COVID-19), section 3202(b) of the CARES Act and implementing 
regulations at 45 CFR Part 182 require providers of diagnostic tests for COVID-19 to make 
public the cash price of a COVID-19 diagnostic test on the providers public internet website or 
face potential enforcement action including civil monetary penalties.  
 
Under section 6001(c) of the FFCRA, the Departments are authorized to implement the 
requirements of section 6001 of the FFCRA, as amended by section 3201 of the CARES Act, 
through sub-regulatory guidance, program instruction, or otherwise. The Departments have 
previously issued two sets of FAQs to implement these provisions of the FFCRA and CARES 
Act and address other health coverage issues related to COVID-19.  
  
Q1. Under the FFCRA, can plans and issuers use medical screening criteria to deny (or 
impose cost sharing on) a claim for COVID-19 diagnostic testing for an asymptomatic 
person who has no known or suspected exposure to COVID-19? 
 
No. The FFCRA prohibits plans and issuers from imposing medical management, including 
specific medical screening criteria, on coverage of COVID-19 diagnostic testing. Plans and 
issuers cannot require the presence of symptoms or a recent known or suspected exposure, or 
otherwise impose medical screening criteria on coverage of tests.   
 
When an individual seeks and receives a COVID-19 diagnostic test from a licensed or authorized 
health care provider, or when a licensed or authorized health care provider refers an individual 
for a COVID-19 diagnostic test, plans and issuers generally must assume that the receipt of the 
                                                           
entirety of 2021, and when a decision is made to terminate the declaration or let it expire, HHS will provide states 
with 60 days notice prior to termination. 
3 Pub. L. No. 116-136 (2020). 
2  test reflects an individualized clinical assessment and the test should be covered without cost 
sharing, prior authorization, or other medical management requirements.4  
 
This FAQ clarifies the Departments guidance in FAQs Part 43, Q5,5 with respect to the testing 
of asymptomatic individuals with no known or suspected exposure to COVID-19. This FAQ 
does not modify previous guidance addressing coverage of testing for groups of asymptomatic 
employees or individuals with no known or suspected recent exposure to COVID-19, such as for 
public health surveillance or employment purposes (see Q2 below).  
 
State and local public health authorities retain the authority to direct providers to limit eligibility 
for testing based on clinical risk or other criteria to manage testing supplies and access to testing. 
Responsibility for implementing such state or local limits on testing falls on attending health care 
providers, not on plans and issuers. Plans and issuers may not use such criteria to deny (or 
impose cost sharing on) a claim for COVID-19 diagnostic testing. 
 
Q2. May plans and issuers distinguish between COVID-19 diagnostic testing of 
asymptomatic people that must be covered, and testing for general workplace health and 
safety, for public health surveillance, or for other purposes not primarily intended for 
individualized diagnosis or treatment of COVID-19?  
 
Yes. Plans and issuers must provide coverage without imposing any cost-sharing requirements 
(including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance), prior authorization, or other medical 
management requirements for COVID-19 diagnostic testing of asymptomatic individuals when 
the purpose of the testing is for individualized diagnosis or treatment of COVID-19. However, 
plans and issuers are not required to provide coverage of testing such as for public health 
surveillance or employment purposes. But there is also no prohibition or limitation on plans and 
issuers providing coverage for such tests. Plans and issuers are encouraged to ensure 
communications about the circumstances in which testing is covered are clear. To the extent not 
inconsistent with the FFCRAs prohibition on medical management, plans and issuers may 
continue to employ programs designed to detect and address fraud and abuse.  
 
Q3. Under the FFCRA, are plans and issuers required to cover COVID-19 diagnostic tests 
provided through state- or locality-administered testing sites? 
 
Yes. As stated in FAQs Part 43, Q3, any health care provider acting within the scope of their 
license or authorization can make an individualized clinical assessment regarding COVID-19 
diagnostic testing.6 If an individual seeks and receives a COVID-19 diagnostic test from a 
                                                           
4 See FAQs About Families First Coronavirus Response Act and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 
Act Implementation Part 43, Q3 (June 23, 2020), available at https://www.cms.gov/files/document/FFCRA-Part-43-
FAQs.pdf and https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-activities/resource-center/faqs/aca-part-
43.pdf. 
5 Id. at Q5. 
6 Supra note 4. 
3  licensed or authorized provider, including from a state- or locality-administered site, a drive-
through site, and/or a site that does not require appointments, plans and issuers generally must 
assume that the receipt of the test reflects an individualized clinical assessment. 
 
Q4. Do point-of-care tests for COVID-19 have to be covered without cost sharing under the 
FFCRA? 
 
Yes. The FFCRA and the CARES Act make no distinction between point-of-care and other tests; 
all COVID-19 diagnostic tests that meet one of the criteria outlined in section 6001 of the 
FFCRA, as amended by section 3201 of the CARES Act, must be covered without cost sharing, 
prior authorization, or medical management (including for asymptomatic individuals with no 
known or suspected exposure to COVID-19). 
 
Q5. What items and services are plans and issuers required to cover associated with 
COVID-19 diagnostic testing? What steps should plans and issuers take to help ensure 
compliance with these requirements? 
 
As the Departments previously explained, [s]ection 6001(a)(2) of the FFCRA requires plans 
and issuers to provide coverage for items and services furnished to an individual during health 
care provider office visits (including in-person visits and telehealth visits), urgent care center 
visits, and emergency room visits that result in an order for or administration of an in vitro 
diagnostic product, but only to the extent that the items and services relate to the furnishing or 
administration of the product or to the evaluation of the individual for purposes of determining 
the need of the individual for that product.7 
 
Plans and issuers should maintain their claims processing and other information technology 
systems in ways that protect participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees from inappropriate cost 
sharing and should document any steps that they are taking to do so. The Departments invite 
feedback from stakeholders on additional steps that plans and issuers should take to protect their 
participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees from inappropriate cost sharing and ensure compliance 
with the law. The Departments will take enforcement action, where appropriate, to ensure 
consumers receive the protections they are entitled to under the FFCRA and CARES Act.   
 
Q6. What should plans and issuers do if they identify providers of COVID-19 diagnostic 
testing who are not complying with requirements under section 3202(b) of the CARES Act 
related to cash price posting or who are otherwise acting in bad faith?  
 
Although it is the Departments understanding that most providers have been pricing COVID-19 
tests at reasonable levels, generally consistent with reimbursement rates set by the Medicare 
program, the Departments are aware that some providers have not done so and are using the 
public health emergency as an opportunity to impose extraordinarily high charges. One way 
                                                           
7 See FAQs About Families First Coronavirus Response Act and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 
Act Implementation Part 43, Q7. 
4  plans and issuers can respond to such practices is by giving participants, beneficiaries, and 
enrollees information about providers who have negotiated rates for COVID-19 testing with the 
plan or issuer, or about other providers who adhere to best practice standards, and encouraging 
participants, beneficiaries, and enrollees to rely on these providers. Plans and issuers that identify 
providers that are violating the cash price posting requirements should report violations to 
COVID19CashPrice@cms.hhs.gov. 
 
The Departments welcome feedback from stakeholders on how best to monitor abusive practices 
and on ways to encourage consumers to get tested by providers that are not overcharging for 
their services or otherwise violating the law.  
 
Rapid Coverage of Preventive Services for Coronavirus 
 
Section 3203 of the CARES Act and its implementing regulations8 require non-grandfathered 
group health plans and health insurance issuers offering non-grandfathered group or individual 
health insurance coverage to cover, without cost-sharing requirements, any qualifying 
coronavirus preventive services pursuant to section 2713(a) of the PHS Act and its implementing 
regulations (or any successor regulations). The term qualifying coronavirus preventive service 
means an item, service, or immunization that is intended to prevent or mitigate COVID-19 and 
that is, with respect to the individual involved 
 
  An evidence-based item or service that has in effect a rating of A or B in the 
current recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force 
(USPSTF); or  
  An immunization that has in effect a recommendation from the Advisory Committee 
on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
(CDC) (regardless of whether the immunization is recommended for routine use).  
 
As of the publication of this document, there are two COVID-19 vaccines that have received a 
recommendation from ACIP. On December 12, 2020, ACIP issued an interim recommendation 
for use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for persons 16 years of age and older in the 
U.S. population under the FDAs emergency use authorization (EUA). The recommendation was 
adopted by the Director of the CDC on December 13, 2020. On December 19, 2020, ACIP 
issued an interim recommendation for use of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for persons 18 
years of age and older in the U.S. population under the FDAs EUA. The recommendation was 
adopted by the Director of the CDC on December 20, 2020.9 
 
                                                           
8 85 FR 71142 (Nov. 6, 2020). 
9 Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention, COVID-19 ACIP Vaccine Recommendations, available at 
https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/acip-recs/vacc-specific/covid-19.html. 
5  Q7. Do plans and issuers have to cover all COVID-19 vaccines with a recommendation in 
effect from ACIP (and associated administration)? 
 
Yes. Plans and issuers must provide coverage without cost sharing for all COVID-19 vaccines 
that have received a recommendation that makes them a qualifying coronavirus preventive 
service with respect to the individual involved, and their administration. Plans and issuers are not 
permitted to exclude coverage for (or impose cost sharing on) any qualifying coronavirus 
preventive services.10   
 
Q8. When must plans and issuers begin providing coverage for qualifying coronavirus 
preventive services? 
 
Plans and issuers must cover qualifying coronavirus preventive services without cost sharing 
starting no later than 15 business days (not including weekends or holidays) after the date the 
USPSTF or ACIP makes an applicable recommendation regarding a qualifying coronavirus 
preventive service. A recommendation from ACIP is considered in effect after it has been 
adopted by the Director of the CDC. Thus, the requirement to cover the Pfizer BioNTech 
COVID-19 vaccine became effective January 5, 2021, and the requirement to cover the Moderna 
COVID-19 vaccine became effective January 12, 2021. 
 
Q9. Do plans and issuers have to cover the vaccine administration fee when the plan or 
issuer is not billed for the vaccine? 
 
Yes. As the Departments previously explained in the preamble to the Additional Policy and 
Regulatory Revisions in Response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency interim final rule 
with request for comments, plans and issuers subject to section 2713 of the PHS Act must cover 
without cost sharing an immunization that is a qualifying coronavirus preventive service and its 
administration, regardless of how the administration is billed, and regardless of whether a 
COVID-19 vaccine or any other immunization requires the administration of multiple doses in 
order to be considered a complete vaccination. This includes covering without cost sharing the 
administration of a required preventive immunization in instances where a third party, such as 
the Federal Government, pays for the preventive immunization.11  
 
Q10. The CDC and ACIP have made recommendations regarding the categories of 
individuals to prioritize for vaccination during the initial phases of the COVID-19 
vaccination program while vaccine supply is limited. 12 May a plan or issuer deny coverage 
of recommended COVID-19 vaccines because a participant, beneficiary, or enrollee is not 
in a category recommended for early vaccination?  
 
                                                           
10 26 CFR 54.9815-2713T(a)(1)(v)(B); 29 CFR 2590.715-2713(a)(1)(v)(B); 45 CFR 147.130(a)(1)(v)(B).  
11 85 FR at 7117475. 
12 COVID-19 ACIP Vaccine Recommendations, supra note 9. 
6  No. While certain individuals may be prioritized by states and local jurisdictions for early 
vaccination, ACIP does not currently recommend against vaccination of individuals in other 
prioritization categories. Plans and issuers must provide coverage without cost sharing of 
COVID-19 immunizations in accordance with the vaccine-specific recommendations of ACIP 
that have been adopted by the Director of the CDC, regardless of priority. Those ACIP 
recommendations currently recommend vaccination of all individuals in the specified age groups 
noted in the introduction to this section.  
 
Plans and issuers may communicate with participants, beneficiaries, or enrollees about which 
individuals will be vaccinated first when supply is limited. However, a plan or issuer should not 
communicate that coverage is limited only to individuals who are recommended for early 
vaccination based on state and local plans for allocation of initial doses of the COVID-19 
vaccine or the CDC and ACIP recommendations regarding which categories of individuals to 
prioritize for vaccination. 
 
Furthermore, a decision by an individuals provider (including a provider integrated with a health 
plan) to decline to give the vaccine to someone because he or she is not within a prioritization 
category is not an adverse benefit determination made by a group health plan or health insurance 
issuer. Therefore, the providers decision is not subject to the internal claims and appeals and 
external review requirements under section 2719 of the PHS Act (incorporated into the 
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by section 715 of ERISA and the Internal 
Revenue Code (the Code) by section 9815 of the Code). 
 
Notice Requirements 
 
Section 2715(d)(4) of the PHS Act and final rules issued by the Departments regarding the 
summary of benefits and coverage (SBC) provide that if a plan or issuer makes a material 
modification (as defined under section 102 of ERISA) in any of the terms of the plan or coverage 
that would affect the content of the SBC, that is not reflected in the most recently provided SBC, 
and that occurs other than in connection with a renewal or reissuance of coverage, the plan or 
issuer must provide notice of the modification to enrollees not later than 60 days prior to the date 
on which the modification will become effective.  
 
On April 11, 2020, the Departments issued FAQs Part 42.13 In FAQs Part 42, the Departments 
announced temporary enforcement relief so that a plan or issuer may add benefits or reduce or 
eliminate cost sharing for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 or for telehealth and other 
remote care services during the PHE for COVID-19 or national emergency declaration period 
without providing 60 days advance notice of a material modification. However, FAQs Part 42 
stated that the plan or issuer must provide notice of the changes as soon as reasonably 
practicable. 
                                                           
13 FAQs about Families First Coronavirus Response Act and Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act 
Implementation Part 42 (Apr. 11, 2020), available at https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ebsa/about-ebsa/our-
activities/resource-center/faqs/aca-part-42.pdf and https://www.cms.gov/files/document/FFCRA-Part-42-FAQs.pdf.  
7   
Q11. Will the Departments take enforcement action when a plan or issuer covers qualifying 
coronavirus preventive services prior to satisfying the SBC notice of modification 
requirements? 
 
No. The Departments acknowledge that it would not be possible for plans and issuers to comply 
with the advance notice of modification requirements regarding qualifying coronavirus 
preventive services, as those services must be covered on the expedited timeframe specified by 
statute. Accordingly, the Departments will not take enforcement action against any plan or issuer 
that does not provide at least 60 days advance notice of a material modification regarding the 
addition of coverage for qualifying coronavirus preventive services. However, plans and issuers 
must provide any required notice of the changes as soon as reasonably practicable. In addition, 
HHS encourages states to take a similar approach and will not consider a state to have failed to 
substantially enforce section 2715(d)(4) of the PHS Act if it takes such an approach. 
 
Excepted Benefits 
 
Sections 2722 and 2763 of the PHS Act, section 732 of ERISA, and section 9831 of the Code 
provide that the respective requirements of title XXVII of the PHS Act, part 7 of ERISA, and 
Chapter 100 of the Code generally do not apply to the provision of certain types of benefits, 
known as excepted benefits. Excepted benefits are described in section 2791(c) of the PHS 
Act, section 733(c) of ERISA, and section 9832(c) of the Code. These parallel statutory 
provisions establish four categories of excepted benefits, of which only the first and second are 
relevant here. The first category, under section 2791(c)(1) of the PHS Act, section 733(c)(1) of 
ERISA, and section 9832(c)(1) of the Code, includes benefits that are generally not health 
coverage, including on-site medical clinics. The benefits in this category are excepted in all 
circumstances.14  
 
The second category of excepted benefits is limited excepted benefits, which may include limited 
scope vision or dental benefits, as well as benefits for long-term care, nursing home care, home 
health care, or community-based care. The benefits in this category are excepted only if certain 
conditions are met. Section 2791(c)(2)(C) of the PHS Act, section 733(c)(2)(C) of ERISA, and 
section 9832(c)(2)(C) of the Code authorize the Secretaries of HHS, Labor, and the Treasury 
(collectively, the Secretaries) to issue regulations establishing other, similar limited benefits as 
excepted benefits. The Secretaries exercised this authority previously with respect to certain 
employee assistance programs (EAPs).15 Under the Departments final regulations, EAPs are 
excepted if they satisfy all of the following requirements16:  
 
(A) The EAP does not provide significant benefits in the nature of medical care. For this 
purpose, the amount, scope, and duration of covered services are taken into account.  
                                                           
14 26 CFR 54.9831-1(c)(2); 29 CFR 2590.732(c)(2); 45 CFR 146.145(b)(2) and 148.220(a). 
15 79 FR 59130 (Oct. 1, 2014). 
16 26 CFR 54.9831-1(c)(3)(vi); 29 CFR 2590.732(c)(3)(vi); 45 CFR 146.145(b)(3)(vi). 
8   
(B) The benefits under the EAP are not coordinated with benefits under another group 
health plan: 
 
(1) Participants in the other group health plan must not be required to use and 
exhaust benefits under the EAP (making the EAP a gatekeeper) before an 
individual is eligible for benefits under the other group health plan; and 
 
(2) Participant eligibility for benefits under the EAP must not be dependent on 
participation in another group health plan. 
 
(C) No employee premiums or contributions are required as a condition of participation 
in the EAP. 
 
(D) There is no cost sharing under the EAP. 
 
FAQs Part 42, Q11 clarified that an employer may offer benefits for diagnosis and testing for 
COVID-19 under an EAP that constitutes an excepted benefit while a PHE declaration under 
section 319 of the PHS Act for COVID-19 or a national emergency declaration under the 
National Emergencies Act related to COVID-19 is in effect. FAQs Part 42, Q12 also clarified 
that an employer may offer benefits for diagnosis and testing for COVID-19 at an on-site 
medical clinic that constitutes an excepted benefit and that coverage of on-site medical clinics is 
an excepted benefit in all circumstances. 
 
Q12. May an employer offer benefits for COVID-19 vaccines (and their administration) 
under an EAP that constitutes an excepted benefit? 
 
Yes. The Departments final regulations provide that for the purpose of determining whether an 
EAP provides benefits that are significant in the nature of medical care, the amount, scope, and 
duration of covered services are taken into account.17 An EAP will not be considered to provide 
benefits that are significant in the nature of medical care solely because it offers benefits for 
COVID-19 vaccines and their administration (including when offered in combination with 
benefits for diagnosis and testing for COVID-19). However, there must be no cost sharing under 
the EAP for benefits under the EAP to constitute excepted benefits and the EAP must also 
comply with other applicable requirements.18     
 
Q13. May an employer offer benefits for COVID-19 vaccines (and their administration) at 
an on-site medical clinic that constitutes an excepted benefit? 
 
Yes. Coverage of on-site medical clinics is an excepted benefit in all circumstances.19 
                                                           
17 Id.  
18 26 CFR 54.9831-1(c)(3)(vi); 29 CFR 2590.732(c)(3)(vi); 45 CFR 146.145(b)(3)(vi). 
19 Section 9831(b) of the Code; section 732(b) of ERISA; section 2722(b) of the PHS Act. 
9   
Provider Relief Fund 
 
Q14. How should health care providers seek reimbursement when delivering COVID-19-
related services to the uninsured? 
 
Congress provided and HHS administers two sources of federal funding to reimburse providers 
for providing services related to COVID-19 to uninsured patients. The FFCRA Relief Fund and 
the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (PPPHCEA) collectively 
appropriated $2 billion to reimburse providers for COVID-19 testing for uninsured individuals. 
Additionally, the CARES Act established a Provider Relief Fund (PRF) and appropriated $100 
billion to the fund. The PPPHCEA and the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental 
Appropriations Act (CRRSA) collectively appropriated an additional $78 billion in relief funds 
for a total of $178 billion. A portion of the PRF is available to reimburse providers for COVID-
19 testing and testing-related visits for uninsured individuals, treatment for uninsured individuals 
with a COVID-19 diagnosis, and COVID-19 vaccination administration fees via the Health 
Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement to Health 
Care Providers and Facilities for Testing, Treatment, and Vaccine Administration for the 
Uninsured program (referred to as the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program). Providers are not 
required to ascertain a patients immigration status in order to receive reimbursement from the 
fund.  
 
HHS expects that providers will seek reimbursement from these funding sources for providing 
this care to the uninsured, thus helping to ensure that cost does not act as a barrier to needed 
services during the COVID-19 pandemic. HHS expects that providers will act in a manner 
consistent with state law and will not inappropriately leverage their greater knowledge of or 
familiarity with applicable reimbursement policy or withhold relevant information from 
consumers. Providers who receive reimbursement from the HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured 
Program cannot seek reimbursement, including balance billing, for such vaccination, care, or 
treatment from the individual or any other source.   
 
Providers can familiarize themselves with this process at 
https://www.hrsa.gov/coviduninsuredclaim, and learn more and file claims at  
https://coviduninsuredclaim.linkhealth.com/. The Departments also seek input from stakeholders 
on potential strategies for directing uninsured people to providers who rely on reimbursement 
from the PRF and agree not to charge such patients for COVID-19 related services. Information 
regarding providers who have received claims reimbursement for COVID-19 testing of 
uninsured individuals and/or treatment for uninsured individuals with a COVID-19 diagnosis is 
available at https://data.cdc.gov/Administrative/Claims-Reimbursement-to-Health-Care-
Providers-and-/rksx-33p3.  
 
10