Booking a COVID-19 vaccine? Watch out for insurance issues and canceled appointments
MILWAUKEE — Some people seeking the newest COVID-19 vaccine are running into high demand, insurance headaches and supply delays coast to coast.
Millions of the newly formulated vaccines have shipped out since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on them last month for people ages 6 months and older. Cases started rising again in late summer, and experts hope that the new shots will help protect people during the upcoming fall respiratory virus season.
But some people have had to cancel appointments because their insurance hasn’t updated the billing codes to cover the vaccines. Others signed up for an appointment, only to have it canceled due to supply issues.
Order backlogs and slow shipments prevented the vaccines from being widely available right away, said Alaska Department of Health spokesperson Alex Huseman.
“This rollout has been a little bumpier than anticipated, but we do not believe there will be any significant delay in vaccine availability,” she said.
The new COVID shot is available at CVS and Walgreens at no cost through most insurers. But Kaiser enrollees must wait until Sept. 28 to avoid paying out of pocket.
This is the first time that the vaccines are reaching most Americans through the commercial market, bringing public and private health insurers back in the mix. Previously, the federal government bought and distributed COVID-19 vaccines for free once they became available.
CVS Pharmacy spokesperson Matt Blanchette said some insurers have taken awhile to update their billing systems to cover the vaccines. For others, the shots were covered by insurance without issue, but appointments were canceled by their pharmacy due to supply delays.
Walgreens and CVS confirmed that delivery delays to some stores across the country had led to canceled appointments.
“We are aware of isolated incidences at a small number of locations where appointments had to be rescheduled due to delays in supply,” a Walgreens spokesperson said, noting most stores “have supply to support existing patient appointments.”
Moderna and Pfizer representatives said they have enough supply. Pfizer spokespeople said the company is not experiencing any shortages and has “shipped and delivered several million doses of its 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine.” Moderna had 6 million available the week after the CDC approved the shots, said Chris Ridley, vice president of communications.
A new COVID-19 vaccine is coming, and health officials are recommending most everyone get it. But how many people are willing to roll up their sleeves again?
Marwa Bakr, the owner of a small, private pharmacy on Milwaukee’s southwest side, said she put in a preorder for the new Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in August. She got a call from Moderna in mid-September telling her she should get the vaccines in the next two weeks. Pfizer had said the shots could come by the end of September.
She used to order the vaccines through the federal government, and said the return to the commercial process is “taking longer.”
“I receive a lot of phone calls every day from people asking when the vaccine will be available,” Bakr said.
Still, the supply issues aren’t deterring people seeking to get the vaccine.
Karen Ramos of Temecula made an appointment at her local CVS as soon as she heard that the vaccines were approved. The 57-year-old insurance underwriter has never had COVID-19 — at least, as far as she is aware. She wanted to keep it that way ahead of a scheduled Caribbean cruise.
The new flu and COVID vaccines are specifically formulated to protect against particular viral strains that officials feel will be prevalent this fall and winter.
She had scheduled an appointment for Sept. 16, but the day before, she got a text from the pharmacy saying the new vaccine was not available and her appointment had been canceled. She set a new appointment for Sept. 19, which also was canceled “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Ramos started searching for appointments at any CVS between her home and office in San Diego. By expanding her search to Walgreens, she was able to snag an appointment.
“It was frustrating, because I was excited to get it two weeks in advance [of the cruise], and then having to scramble to reschedule,” she said.
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