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COVID-19: Secure a Free Virtual COVID-19 Telehealth Consultation Appointment and Life Saving Treatment Prescription

Person having a video visit with a physician

The COVID-19 treatment telehealth program will offer patient consultations to Wisconsinites at no charge through April 10, 2024.

After March 8, 2024, patients who rely on Medicare or Medicaid for insurance coverage and those who are uninsured may continue to receive free Paxlovid through the PAXCESS patient assistance program. Patients with private insurance may also register with PAXCESS to receive discounted prescriptions.

Securing COVID-19 antiviral treatment pills has never been easier with your choice of meeting with a clinician either virtually with a computer or smart device or by phone. Read more about the COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth program below and with our telehealth flyers, available in English, Spanish, Hmong, Hindi, Chinese, and Somali, P-03329a.

The COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth program is available both to individuals over age 18 in Wisconsin, and to clinicians who would like guidance on prescribing the treatments. See more information below for the Provider to Provider pathway.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, antiviral treatments such as Paxlovid and Lagevrio (molnupiravir) are available to help prevent you from becoming seriously ill, being hospitalized, or dying. You must be able to take this treatment within five days of your symptoms starting. It is essential that people who test positive for COVID-19 seek access to a prescribing clinician as soon as possible, even if symptoms are mild. Due to this short amount of time, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is offering free virtual telehealth services to quickly connect with a clinician who can determine if you are eligible for this treatment and prescribe it, free of charge. Prescriptions may be sent to you via home delivery or picked up at one of over 700 pharmacies throughout Wisconsin. Insurance is not required. Treatment is not a substitute for vaccination, which can prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death.

COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth is only for COVID-19 treatment, not for any other medical need or for medical emergencies. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please dial 911. Prescriptions for free Paxlovid or Lagevrio (molnupiravir) can only be administered after a doctor deems you eligible for treatment during your free virtual appointment.

What to expect in the Telehealth consultation and prescription process

Step 1: Before getting started, make sure you have:

  1. A list of medications, supplements, or vitamins you are taking
  2. A copy of your lab results within the last three months if you have kidney disease

Step 2: Get started online or by telephone

Request a virtual visit online or call 833-273-6330.

Step 3: Join the video or telephone call to begin your consultation within 30 minutes

Clinicians are available seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT.

Step 4: If you are prescribed antiviral treatment, pick it up at your pharmacy or have it overnight mailed to your residence via home delivery

Note: This treatment is not a substitute for vaccination, which can prevent serious illness, hospitalization, and death. Learn more about getting vaccinated.

Find out more about COVID-19 treatments on DHS’ treatments webpage.

Provider-to-Provider Telehealth Support

Medical providers can call in to the COVID-19 treatment telehealth program and receive a consultation with a Color Health provider to determine whether to prescribe oral antivirals to their patients.

The Color Health provider can help:

  • Assess comorbities
  • Identify drug interactions
  • Decide which, if any, COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment may be right for your residents.

No patient identifiable information will be needed for the consultation, so there is no need to work with proxies, powers of attorney, or to have the patient present for the consultation. A provider-to-provider COVID-19 treatment telehealth call can only be initiated on our telephone hotline. Dial 833-273-6330 to start a telehealth conference.

Need help?

COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth service is offered in collaboration with Color Health, Inc. If you need help, contact the Color Support Team at 844-352-6567 or email treatments@color.com from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT.

Frequently asked questions

About COVID-19 antiviral pills

Paxlovid has been authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA), for the treatment of mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults and pediatric patients (12 years of age and older weighing at least 88 lbs) who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19, including hospitalization or death.

If Paxlovid is right for you, treatment should start within five days of symptom onset. Paxlovid is not for people who have a history of allergy to nirmatrelvir or ritonavir or other components of these drugs, and it is not for people taking certain other drugs. Paxlovid may cause side effects, some of which may be serious and unexpected. Learn more about Paxlovid on the manufacturer’s website, and review the patient and healthcare provider fact sheets for more information.

The emergency use of Paxlovid is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of drugs and biological products during the COVID-19 pandemic under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated or authorization revoked sooner.

Molnupiravir, or its brand name Lagevrio, is authorized for emergency use by FDA under an EUA to treat mild-to-moderate COVID-19 in adults who are at high risk for progression to severe COVID-19 including hospitalization or death, and for whom other COVID-19 treatment options approved or authorized by the FDA are not accessible or clinically appropriate.

Molnupiravir isn't authorized for use in people less than 18 years of age, for prevention of COVID-19, for people needing hospitalization for COVID-19, or for use for longer than 5 consecutive days. Molnupiravir isn't recommended for use in pregnancy as it may cause harm to an unborn baby. Molnupiravir may cause side effects, some of which may be serious and unexpected. Learn more about molnupiravir on the manufacturer's website and review the patient and healthcare provider fact sheets for more information.

The emergency use of molnupiravir is only authorized for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of drugs and biological products during the COVID-19 pandemic under Section 564(b)(1) of the Act, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb3(b)(1), unless the declaration is terminated or authorization revoked sooner.

Accessibility

You can use COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth if you:

  • Have mild to moderate symptoms which started no more than five days ago.
  • Are currently in Wisconsin.
  • Are ages 18 and over.
  • Are at risk for developing severe COVID-19.

People who have had symptoms for more than five days, who may be pregnant, or who may not be at risk for severe illness based on age and medical history may not be eligible for antiviral treatment through this program.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please dial 911.

Risk factors for becoming severely ill with COVID-19 include:

  • Age 65+
  • Asthma
  • COPD
  • Cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Hypertension
  • Overweight
  • Chronic Kidney Disease
  • Chronic Liver Disease
  • Chronic Lung Disease
  • Dementia
  • Physical inactivity
  • Smoking
  • Disabilities
  • Heart disease
  • HIV
  • Weakened immune system
  • Mental health conditions
  • Pregnancy
  • Sickle Cell or Thalassemia
  • Solid organ or blood cell transplant
  • Stroke
  • Substance use disorders
  • Tuberculosis

For a full list of risk factors, see the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) webpage.

  • A smartphone or computer that has video capacity, or a landline.
  • A list of all medications, vitamins, and supplements you are taking.
  • A copy of your lab results within the last three months if you have kidney disease.

  • COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth is a free service, neither you nor your insurance will be charged for the consultation.
  • The antiviral medications are also provided free of charge either at a pharmacy, or when overnight mailed to you.

Consultations for COVID-19 antiviral treatment are currently available in Amharic, Arabic, English, French, Haitian Creole, Hindi, Hmong, Korean, Mandarin Chinese (simplified) and traditional Chinese, Marshallese, Portuguese, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese.

Prescription information

  • You can find pharmacies that have supplies of the antiviral pills Paxlovid and/or Lagevrio by consulting our map. There are over 700 pharmacies in the state of Wisconsin that carry these medications.
  • You could also elect to receive the pills in the mail.
    • If you choose home delivery, prescriptions received before 4 p.m. CT Sunday through Monday will be sent via next-day air to street addresses.
      • FedEx doesn’t deliver overnight on Sunday, so shipping is not available on Saturday.
      • This service is unavailable for PO boxes.
    • If you are requesting a consultation on Saturday, you may want to consider pharmacy pickup instead.
    • You'll be able to discuss pharmacy options with your clinician and may change your choice based on their guidance.

You will receive an email from our pharmacy partner WellDyne when your prescription ships. It will also include tracking information.

Appointment information

  • You do not need insurance.
  • No insurance information will be collected if you have health insurance.

  • There is an intake form that needs to be filled out to get started, that should take about five minutes.
  • Once your intake form is submitted, your COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth call will start within five to 30 minutes.
  • The COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth appointment is unlikely to last longer than 30 minutes. If you are connecting to the appointment via smartphone, be sure to have enough battery power to last through the call.

  • You do not need an app or special software.
  • If you have a smartphone or a computer with internet capabilities, you only need access to video. You can also access COVID-19 Treatment Telehealth through a phone call from a landline.

  • For video consultations: A health care provider will wait up to 10 minutes for you to join the call. If you miss your appointment, please request another on by logging in to your account at Color Health.
  • For telephone consultations: If you don’t answer the first call, they’ll call you one more time after 10 minutes. If you miss both calls, please request another by logging in to your account at Color Health, or by phoning 833-273-6330.

You can email treatments@color.com or call 844-352-6567. They are open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. CT seven days a week.

Last revised March 7, 2024