Moderna Pledges No Out-of-Pocket Costs for COVID Vaccines

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Moderna will join Pfizer in making its COVID-19 vaccine available for free once government coverage ends later this year, the company announced Wednesday.

The U.S. government has paid for the vaccines throughout the pandemic, but that will come to an end after the public health emergency concludes in May.

“Moderna remains committed to ensuring that people in the United States will have access to our COVID-19 vaccines regardless of ability to pay,” the company said in a statement.

Pfizer previously announced plans for no out-of-pocket costs for people to get its COVID-19 vaccine.

The Moderna announcement comes amid criticism from lawmakers after The Wall Street Journal reported in January that the company planned to increase the price per vaccine dose to as much as $130. The U.S. government contract paid Moderna $26 per dose. 

Most insurance plans plus Medicare and Medicaid will cover the cost of vaccines with no out-of-pocket cost to participants, according to a recent summary from the Kaiser Family Foundation. But the organization noted that the transition to insurers paying the full cost of vaccines instead of the U.S. government could impact private insurance premiums.

Sources:

News release, Moderna.

Kaiser Family Foundation: “Commercialization of COVID-19 Vaccines, Treatments, and Tests: Implications for Access and Coverage.”

Wall Street Journal: “Moderna Considers Price of $110-$130 for Covid-19 Vaccine.”

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