Governor Baker issued three emergency orders to further support the Commonwealth’s health care workforce and expand its capacity, as well as ensure access to in-patient services for COVID-19 patients. These orders include:
- Ensuring access to in-patient services: This order mandates that insurers must cover all medically required costs of COVID-19 treatment in out-of-network hospitals or other medical facilities with no charge to the patient, including co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance payments. Health care providers and medical facility insurers must accept the following rates for out-of-plan treatment:
If insurers have a contract with a provider or facility: contracted rate even if the patient is not in a network that covers the provider or facility
If insurer has no contract with a provider or facility: 135 percent of the applicable Medicare rate
Insurers may not balance bill, or charge, patients for amounts above the above specified payments.
Read the Order. - Easing licensing restrictions for foreign-educated doctors to allow medical practice in the Commonwealth: This order specifically allows graduates of international medical schools who have successfully completed at least two years of postgraduate resident medical training in the US to be eligible for licensure in the Commonwealth.
Read the Order. - Expediting licensure of nursing students and graduates: This order allows nursing school graduates and students in their final semesters of nursing programs to practice nursing in advance of receiving a license, provided that they are directly supervised by other licensed medical professionals.
Read the Order