Unedited transcript:
It's important to have health insurance, especially during a pandemic. KPBS' Jackie Fortier reports that there's a big change to most healthcare coverage. You should be on the lookout for when shopping for a new plan during open enrollment.
At the beginning of the pandemic, some insurers chose not to charge COVID patients for expensive hospital stays and therapies.
A few companies have continued that policy as long as the public health emergencies in place, but most are quietly going back to business as usual because the insurance companies voluntarily waived those costs. They can decide when to reinstate them. So you'll need to check the policy of each plan.
You're considering to see how treatment for COVID-19 is. You can also avoid hospital bills by getting the free COVID-19 shots, or if you're eligible the booster vaccinated, people are five times less likely to get infected and 10 times less likely to get so sick that they end up in the hospital covering health.
I'm Jackie Fortier.
