Quote:People looking to get their new COVID-19 vaccine are feeling sore over hefty unexpected charges for the federally-recommended shot.

Customers nationwide at pharmacies including Walgreens and CVS who landed appointments for the jab this week were shocked to learn they would feel the additional pinch of three-figure fees for their boosters.

“Nightmare is the first word that comes to mind,” Acton, Massachusetts, resident Glen Cote told WBZ-TV after he learned his new booster would run him $190.99.

It’s a complaint echoed by dozens of social media users after pharmacies dinged patients anywhere from between $125 to $200 for the latest boosters.

Some pharmacists even reached out to customers to warn them about the eye-popping fees and recommend they reschedule their appointments.

The unexpected out-of-pocket costs are in part the result of pharmacies fighting over market share for the new vaccine, The Albany Times Union reported.

Chains like CVS and Walgreens hurriedly placed orders for the latest jabs, which were approved by the Food and Drug Administration last week, before some insurance plans updated their systems for the new shots’ billing codes.

“Some payers are still updating their systems and may not yet be set up to cover the updated COVID-19 vaccines,” a CVS spokesperson told WBZ.

COVID vaccines were free for everyone through the federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency declaration, which ended earlier this year. Commercial, Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans must cover the vaccination costs with no co-pays for the patients, according to KFF.

People without health insurance can get free COVID vaccines through local health care centers; state, local, tribal, or territorial health departments; or pharmacies engaging in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Bridge Access program, according to the federal agency.

The latest COVID shot was developed to protect recipients against the XBB variants and has been shown to provide some protection against other new variants as well. The CDC last week recommended for anyone ages six months or older to receive a booster this fall.

Covid cases have been rising across the country as cooler weather sets in.

The state Health Department shows a slow-but-steady increase in the number of COVID cases in the five boroughs in the past few months, with about 650 hospitalized patients as of Friday, including 63 in intensive care. That’s up from a low of 150 people hospitalized at the end of June.

Hospitalizations this year peaked in early January, when about 1,950 people were being treated as inpatients.

Link

So now we’re supposed to pay them to kill us.

Suckers,

I'm sure the lady I saw riding her bike in the park with a mask on will be glad to pay it.

(09-24-2023 09:29 PM)BartlettTigerFan Wrote:  So now we’re supposed to pay them to kill us.

Well, not us. The sheep who've always thought the jabs were great.

Oh it's not free this time. LOL

That will leave only rich, spoiled, high cash monied people to take it. Good, let them put their arms where their mouths are, if that's possible.

"Covid cases have been rising across the country as cooler weather sets in."

...while flu cases have disappeared from the face of the earth. You know, like a few years ago.

(09-25-2023 12:55 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  "Covid cases have been rising across the country as cooler weather sets in."

...while flu cases have disappeared from the face of the earth. You know, like a few years ago.

Someone will be along shortly to 'splain it to you.

So, NOW you guys want universal health care? Make up your minds.

Health insurance doesn't cover a lot of things in case you were somehow unaware. Many plans make people pay for some vaccines, like the Shingles vaccine.

Who said a damn thing about health care, much less universal health care?

My gosh you just spin and spin and spin.

(09-25-2023 01:34 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  So, NOW you guys want universal health care? Make up your minds.

Health insurance doesn't cover a lot of things in case you were somehow unaware. Many plans make people pay for some vaccines, like the Shingles vaccine.

Why did that even enter your thought process? That's literally the opposite of what is being discussed.

(09-25-2023 12:55 PM)olliebaba Wrote:  "Covid cases have been rising across the country as cooler weather sets in."

...while flu cases have disappeared from the face of the earth. You know, like a few years ago.

While flu cases WERE down for one or two years, I believe they come back to normal levels for 2022-2023, right?

Wrong

(09-25-2023 01:37 PM)VA49er Wrote:  

(09-25-2023 01:34 PM)Redwingtom Wrote:  So, NOW you guys want universal health care? Make up your minds.

Health insurance doesn't cover a lot of things in case you were somehow unaware. Many plans make people pay for some vaccines, like the Shingles vaccine.

Why did that even enter your thought process? That's literally the opposite of what is being discussed.

Seems most are bitching about the price for something the government is recommending. If we had care, it'd all be free.

Awww...how precious...baby Khan strikes again. Can't comment in a thread though...he doesn't have the capability apparently.

Nobody is bitching about prices. The point would be the same if it cost $1. Most things go over your head though.