
Moderna promises to provide vaccines at no out-of-pocket cost
Moderna said Wednesday that people won’t need to pay out-of-pocket for its Covid vaccine, regardless of their insurance status, once the US government stops covering the cost of the shots.
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed plans to on May 11 end the federal Covid-19 public health emergency. Since Congress hasn’t signed off on additional funds for vaccines and treatments, the government will halt its free shot provision this year.
The administration reaffirmed its commitment to “ensuring that Covid-19 vaccines and treatments will be widely accessible to all who need them,” and added that Covid vaccines will continue to be covered by Medicare Part B and most private insurance plans with no cost-sharing.
On Wednesday, Moderna announced that those who are uninsured or underinsured will also be able to receive the company’s shots at no cost through a patient assistance program launching after the public health emergency expires.
“Everyone in the United States will have access to Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine regardless of their ability to pay,” the company said in a news release.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, condemned Moderna’s reported plans to quadruple the price of its Covid-19 vaccine in a letter to CEO Stéphane Bancel last month. Bancel told the Wall Street Journal that Moderna is considering pricing its vaccine between $110 and $130 per dose in the US, the same range Pfizer suggested last fall, according to multiple reports. Moderna declined further comment.
“The huge increase in price that you have proposed will have a significantly negative impact on the budgets of Medicaid, Medicare and other government programs that will continue covering the vaccine without cost-sharing for patients,” Sanders wrote. “Your decision will cost taxpayers billions of dollars. Your outrageous price boost will also increase private health insurance premiums.”
Bancel has agreed to appear before HELP on March 22, according to Sanders.
Booster shots
US booster uptake continues to crawl, with just 15.8% of Americans having rolled up their sleeves for the updated vaccine, according to the CDC’s latest data. For comparison, more than 80% of eligible Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine.
Last month, the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee voted unanimously in favor of “harmonizing” Covid vaccine compositions, meaning all current vaccine recipients would receive a bivalent vaccine, regardless of whether they’ve gotten their primary series, in an effort to clear up confusion and “get closer to the strains that are circulating,” one member said.
Despite slow uptake, Bancel expects at least $5 billion in 2023 vaccine sales from already confirmed advance purchase agreements and 2022 contract deferrals.
Pfizer has previously committed to offering uninsured US residents free access to its vaccine through the company’s patient assistance program.