Complete Story
 

10/30/2020

CMS Announces Vaccine Payment Coverage for Medicare and Medicaid  

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have released an interim final rule intended bridge policy gaps to cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as people with employer-sponsored or other private coverage. The action was taken to ensure that a COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the Food and Drug Administration under an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) (as opposed to only the more-traditional Biologics Licensing Application process) would be covered by Medicare and Medicaid. Without this action, a vaccine authorized under the EUA would not be treated the same way, creating cost sharing and reimbursement barriers to care for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The interim final rule also implements a Congressional CARES Act requirement that private health insurers cover vaccines authorized for emergency use as long as the COVID-19 emergency lasts. The interim final rule did not address the overall cost of the eventual vaccine(s), nor coverage of these vaccines if the Public Health Emergency  

Printer-Friendly Version