As the updated Covid vaccine was rolled out to pharmacies across the US last week, some people eager to get their dose ran into unexpected insurance problems – even though the shot is supposed to be covered.
On Wednesday, the Department of Health and Human Services said the problem had 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 vaccination campaign, agency spokesman 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 summary of the meeting provided by HHS. They described the problem of some people being denied coverage as “systemic technical issues.”
One insurer, Aetna, said that going forward it would treat the new shot as a seasonal vaccine, meaning that wherever 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 will not be covered by the government.
Federal health officials had previously said the new shots would be free for most people with insurance.
However, reports quickly surfaced that some people were being told that their insurance would not cover it.
The insurance companies said they would continue to closely monitor reports of any “technical or coding barriers to vaccine coverage,” according to a letter shared with NBC News by AHIP, the industry trade group.
More than two million people have received the updated vaccine as of Wednesday, HHS said.
