HRSA to cover COVID-19 vaccine administration when other coverage doesn’t

The Health Resources and Services Administration will pay health care providers who administer authorized COVID-19 vaccines to patients in health plans that do not cover vaccine administration or cover it with patient cost-sharing, the Department of Health and Human Services announced today. The COVID-19 Coverage Assistance Fund will reimburse providers at the national Medicare rate for vaccine administration and related patient charges for eligible claims dated on or after Dec. 14, 2020, subject to available funding through the Provider Relief Fund. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services last month nearly doubled what it pays to administer COVID-19 vaccines to about $40 per dose to better reflect the costs involved and help providers vaccinate more Americans.

'On top of increasing reimbursement rates tied to administering the shots, we are closing the final payment gap that resulted as vaccines were administered to underinsured individuals,' said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra. 'No healthcare provider should hesitate to deliver these critical vaccines to patients over reimbursement cost concerns.'