Last week, as the updated Covid vaccines rolled out to pharmacies across the U.S., some people eager to get their dose were met with unexpected insurance issues — even though the shot is supposed to be covered.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services said the issue has been “largely, if not completely” resolved.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra met earlier in the day with leading insurance companies, including CVS Health, UnitedHealth Group, Anthem, and Cigna, to review the progress of the Biden administration’s fall Covid vaccine campaign, agency spokesperson Jeff Nesbit told NBC News in an email.
During the meeting, the insurance companies made clear that they are “fully covering the new vaccine shots,” according to a rundown of the meeting shared by HHS. They described the problem of some people being denied coverage as “systemic technical issues.”
One insurer, Aetna, said going forward, it would treat the new shot as a seasonal vaccine, meaning anywhere someone gets their annual flu shot, they can get a Covid vaccine.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on the updated Covid vaccines earlier this month.
For the first time since the vaccines became available, the cost of the shots is not covered by the government.
Federal health officials had previously assured that the new shots would be provided at no cost for most people with insurance.
However, reports quickly surfaced of some people being told their insurance would not cover it.
The insurance companies said that they would continue to closely monitor reports of any “technical or coding barriers to vaccine coverage,” according to a letter shared with NBC News from AHIP, the industry’s trade group.
More than two million people have gotten the updated vaccine as of Wednesday, HHS said.
Follow NBC HEALTH on Twitter & Facebook.
Recent Comments