Uninsured Consumers May be Paying for COVID-19 Vaccines as Government Funding Ends 

By Consumers for Quality Care, on September 18, 2024

Consumers without health insurance may have to pay out-of-pocket for COVID-19 vaccines as federal government funding is exhausted, according to The Washington Post.  

The federal Bridge Access Program had been used by uninsured and underinsured consumers to access the COVID-19 vaccine. Now that the Bridge Access Program has run out of funding, this vulnerable population will have to either pay $200 for the shot or run the risk of contracting a virus that’s still killing tens of thousands of Americans each year.  

Health experts agree that if vaccines are not fully covered, uninsured and underinsured consumers will be less likely to receive the vaccination. This is especially concerning, because these consumers, statistically, are already in worse health, and they tend to avoid medical care because of the high cost. 

The Bridge Access Program helped 1.5 million consumers get the COVID-19 vaccine last year. The program was originally set to expire at the end of this year, but earlier this year Congress cut many COVID-19 programs to avoid a federal government shutdown. Though private insurance and government programs like Medicare and Medicaid must still cover the vaccine, the now defunct Bridge Access Program provided a safety net for those without health insurance.  

COVID-19 vaccines are about five times more expensive than flu shots, making it difficult for health agencies to fill in the gaps to ensure everyone who wants a shot gets vaccinated, according to Raynard Washington, who leads the Mecklenburg County Health Department in North Carolina. He would like to see COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers lower the cost of the vaccine for health departments so they can administer the shot to more uninsured consumers. “What’s at stake is we are reverting back to a system where a person’s financial ability to be able to pay will determine their ability to be healthy,” said Washington. 

CQC urges lawmakers and the administration to ensure costs associated with COVID vaccines are not passed down to consumers, regardless of health-insurance status.