What Does the Zero Card Cover: Services, Costs, and Network

The Zero Card covers scheduled, non-emergency medical services — imaging, lab work, many surgeries, physical therapy, and a range of specialty procedures — at no out-of-pocket cost to the member, as long as the care is arranged through a Zero Health provider. The program spans more than 40 clinical categories and over 3,000 individual services, with no copays, no deductibles, and no coinsurance when you use the network.1Zero Health. Zero Health Vision It is a supplemental benefit layered on top of a self-funded employer health plan, not a standalone insurance policy.2Medpage Today. Zero Card Aims to Simplify Health Care Costs

Services Covered Through the Zero Card

Covered services vary by market, so the Personal Health Assistant assigned to each member confirms what is available locally. The categories named across Zero Health’s materials include:

The common thread: these are things a doctor orders or refers you for — a scan, a planned surgery, a course of therapy — rather than walk-in care.

What the Zero Card Does Not Cover

The program is built around scheduled care, so several common types of medical visits sit outside it. Emergency room visits, urgent care, and primary care appointments are not covered by the Zero Card.4Zero Health. Zero Health Members Prescription drug coverage is not part of the program either. And because the benefit depends on direct contracts, you cannot walk into any clinic or hospital and expect the card to apply; a Personal Health Assistant has to coordinate the visit with a Zero Health provider in advance.

Who Is Eligible

You can use the Zero Card only if your employer offers it as part of a self-funded health plan, and only for yourself and eligible dependents enrolled in that plan. If you are on a PPO-style plan, access is typically immediate. If you are on a high-deductible health plan paired with a health savings account, the benefit does not activate until you meet the IRS minimum deductible — $1,600 for an individual or $3,200 for a family. Once you meet it, you notify HR, which updates your eligibility with Zero Health.8Northeastern State University. Using Zero With Your Medical Plan

How to Use the Benefit

Getting care through the Zero Card follows a consistent pattern.

  • Get a doctor’s order or referral. Most services, including physical therapy and imaging, require one. A Personal Health Assistant can confirm the limited exceptions.
  • Contact a Personal Health Assistant by calling 855-816-0001, emailing help@zero.health, or using the portal at my.zero.health. The assistant verifies coverage and locates a network provider near you.4Zero Health. Zero Health Members
  • Get scheduled. For surgeries, imaging, and physical therapy, the Personal Health Assistant coordinates with the provider, who then contacts you. For lab work, you present your Zero Card member ID at a Quest Diagnostics location.4Zero Health. Zero Health Members
  • If a bill shows up, do not pay it. Providers in the network are not permitted to collect from patients at the point of service. Zero Health instructs members to forward any bill for a covered service to their Personal Health Assistant.9Seminole State College. Zero Card FAQ List

A physical lab card arrives in the mail within two to three weeks of your eligibility date, and a digital version is available in the member portal.4Zero Health. Zero Health Members

What It Costs You

Nothing, when you use the benefit as designed. Zero Health pays the provider a bundled, pre-negotiated rate directly, typically within 10 days, and the provider agrees not to collect anything from you.10Zero Health. Zero Health Homepage Your employer pays Zero Health a transaction fee each time a service runs through the program; none of that fee reaches you.11Zero Health. Zero Health Employers If you go outside the Zero Health network for a service that would have been covered, your regular health plan’s cost-sharing applies instead.

Where the Network Reaches

Zero Health’s network is built mostly from independent ambulatory surgery centers, specialty hospitals, imaging centers, and outpatient facilities rather than large hospital systems.12Medical Travel Today. Spotlight Interview: James Millaway, CEO, The Zero Card Published market list includes Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Chicago, Rockford, Denver, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston, with more than 80 employers and 100 facilities participating.2Medpage Today. Zero Card Aims to Simplify Health Care Costs More recent figures put active membership at roughly 130,000.13Zero Health. Case Study: Why Zero

In the small share of cases where no local network provider is available for a needed procedure — under one percent, according to the company — Zero Health covers travel, meals, and lodging for the patient and a companion.12Medical Travel Today. Spotlight Interview: James Millaway, CEO, The Zero Card If you are unsure whether a procedure your doctor has ordered falls within the program, the Personal Health Assistant line is the fastest way to find out before you schedule anything.