Health officials want to make sure no Georgian is denied access to testing or treatment for COVID-19, the disease caused by a new coronavirus.

Georgia Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King issued on Monday a directive to insurance companies across the state encouraging them to take proactive steps to better provide access to care for their customers.

Eleven Georgia residents have tested positive for the COVID-19, and five of those tests have been federally confirmed, the Georgia Department of Public Health said late Sunday.

"It is essential that we are doing everything we can to remove any potential barriers to care for our citizens,” King said.

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This means insurance companies should waive cost-sharing for in-network providers, urgent care centers or emergency room visits when testing for COVID-19, particularly for those individuals with high deductible plans.

The directive also instructs insurers to verify their provider networks are adequate to handle a potential increase in volume of COVID-19 cases and calls on them to provide access to out-of-network providers at an in-network rate if they are not.

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