Texas covers mosquito repellents for the prevention of the Zika virus.

Texas covers mosquito repellents for the prevention of the Zika virus.

Texas now covers mosquito repellents for the prevention of Zika virus. The following notice describes claims processing, eligibility, and benefit information specific to the mosquito repellent benefit for the below programs. The last page of this document contains a prescription template for claims processing.

Covered programs*:

• Medicaid (Managed Care, MCO; and fee-for-service, FFS)
• Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and CHIP-Perinate
• Children with Special Health Care Needs Services (CSHCN)
• Healthy Texas Women (HTW)

*Mosquito repellent is not a benefit of Kidney HealthCare

*Please see attached PDF for more information.

On June 1, 2016 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an informational bulletin about Medicaid benefits available for the prevention, detection, and response to the Zika virus. Zika can cause severe birth defects in unborn children whose mothers are infected while pregnant. Because there is not a vaccine to prevent the disease or medicine to treat it, it is important for women to use repellent to protect themselves and unborn babies. Starting August 12, 2016, Sendero Health Plans will cover select mosquito repellents for its IdealCare clients. The following information describes the benefit details, including eligibility, benefit specifics and claims processing, and information about Zika virus.