Biden Administration Says Insurance Issues With COVID-19 Shots Mostly Fixed

FRIDAY, Sept. 29, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Despite reports of trouble last week where some people may have been denied insurance coverage while seeking COVID-19 shots at pharmacies, the Biden administration said Thursday those issues have been ironed out.

That issue is "largely, if not completely," resolved after U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra met with CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group, Anthem, and Cigna, agency spokesperson Jeff Nesbit told NBC News. The companies are "fully covering the new vaccine shots," the HHS stated, which added the problems were due to "systemic technical issues."

More than 2 million people had already received the updated vaccines by Wednesday, according to HHS.

The federal government is no longer paying for the vaccines, but instead asking they be covered by insurance companies. The insurance companies said they planned to monitor reports of "technical or coding barriers to vaccine coverage," according to a letter shared with NBC News from an industry trade group.

Aetna said it will treat the COVID-19 vaccine like an annual flu shot, allowing members to get the vaccines in the same locations, NBC News reported.

The new boosters were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month.

NBC News Article