Insurers May Reconsider Providing COVID-19 Vaccine Coverage For Healthy Children, Pregnant Women

Bloomberg Law (5/28, Phengsitthy, Clason, Subscription Publication) reports Tuesday’s decision by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to “pull the Covid-19 vaccine from the CDC’s recommended immunization list for healthy children and pregnant women means health plans must navigate whether to keep providing coverage for the shot.” Experts anticipate the change will “likely curtail access to the Covid-19 vaccine for children and pregnant women if health plans drop coverage or increase cost-sharing after no longer being required to pay for the shots. That move would not only leave patients to start paying out of pocket for the vaccines, but place insurers in a tough spot with beneficiaries who are vulnerable to the virus or seeking to prevent it.”