IAIC Extends its Policy Regarding COVID-19 and Short-Term Medical Plans

Independence American Insurance Company (IAIC) announced today that in an effort to provide protection and peace of mind to its insureds during the COVID-19 outbreak will continue to waive certain cost sharing provisions on its Short-Term Medical plans (STM) in order to remove financial barriers to COVID-19 diagnostic testing.

Right now, if someone is uninsured and does not have a Special Enrollment Period, STM (short-term medical) may be their only option for coverage at a time when health insurance is more important than ever.

In an effort to provide protection and peace of mind to its insureds during the COVID-19 outbreak Independence American Insurance IAIC will continue to waive certain cost sharing provisions on its Short-Term Medical plans (STM) in order to remove financial barriers to COVID-19 diagnostic testing.

As a part of its efforts, IAIC will:

• Waive all insured cost sharing, including deductibles, copays and coinsurance, for:
  • COVID-19 diagnostic tests which are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are performed to diagnose the COVID-19 virus; and
  • COVID-19 diagnostic related services, including the related office, emergency or urgent care visit associated with the diagnostic test.
• Waive any preauthorization requirements related to COVID-19 testing.

This will apply to all IAIC STM Plans for any covered testing performed on or after March 11, 2020 through October 18, 2021. IAIC will continue to evaluate other ways in which to assist its insureds during this emergent situation.

Independence American Insurance Company will also waive cost sharing, including deductibles, copays and coinsurance for the administration of an FDA-approved COVID-19 vaccine.

About Independence American Insurance Company

Independence American Insurance Company is domiciled in Delaware and licensed to write property and/or casualty insurance in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Its products include Medicare Supplement, short-term medical, hospital indemnity, fixed indemnity limited benefit, group and individual dental, and pet insurance. Independence American is rated A-(Excellent) for financial strength by A.M. Best, a widely recognized rating agency that rates insurance companies on their relative financial strength and ability to meet policyholder obligations (an A++ rating from A.M. Best is its highest rating).

About The IHC Group

Independence Holding Company (NYSE: IHC), formed in 1980, is a holding company that is principally engaged in underwriting, administering and/or distributing group and individual specialty benefit products, including Medicare Supplement, disability, supplemental health, pet, and group life insurance through its subsidiaries (Independence Holding Company and its subsidiaries collectively referred to as “The IHC Group”). The IHC Group consists of three insurance companies (Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York, Madison National Life Insurance Company, Inc. and Independence American Insurance Company). We also own the following agencies: (i) PetPartners Inc., our pet insurance administrator; (ii) IHC Specialty Benefits, Inc., a technology-driven full-service marketing and distribution company that focuses on small employer and individual consumer products through its call center, career agents, and Independence Brokerage Group; and (iii) The INSX Cloud Platform through My1HR, our wholly owned Web Based Entity. Our InsureTech division is comprised of our call centers, field and career agents, in-house MarTech artificial intelligence capabilities and domains, including www.healthedeals.com; www.healthinsurance.org; www.medicareresources.org; www.petplace.com; and www.mypetinsurance.com.