No Fee To Receive Coronavirus Vaccine: County Executive

WHITE PLAINS, NY — Responding to reports that some uninsured Westchester County residents are being charged for the coronavirus vaccine, County Executive George Latimer said the vaccine is provided free of charge in all cases.

At his Monday news conference, Latimer said the county has heard of people being charged $20 for the vaccine.

"There should be no out-of-pocket cost to the individual for the COVID-19 vaccine," he said. "The COVID-10 vaccine is provided at 100 percent no cost to recipients."

Latimer would not name the pharmacy in question, but he said the county is following up on the information.

He said any fine for such action would come at the state level.

The state also has the ability to withhold vaccines from a pharmacy participating in a payment scam, Latimer said.

He said all organizations and providers participating in the coronavirus vaccine program from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must administer the vaccine at no out-of-pocket cost to the recipient and cannot deny anyone the vaccine based on the recipient's medical coverage or network status.

A charge for an office visit or any other fees may not be imposed if the coronavirus vaccination is the sole medical service being provided, Latimer said, and reimbursement may not be sought from the vaccine recipient through balance billing.

A provider may not require additional medical services in order to receive the coronavirus vaccination.

However, an organization or provider may seek reimbursement from a program or plan that covers coronavirus vaccine administration fees for the vaccine recipient, such as from the person's private insurance company, Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement or HRSA COVID-19 uninsured program for non-insured vaccine recipients.

Individuals aware of any potential violations of these requirements are encouraged to report them to the Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, by calling 1-800-HHS-TIPS or this website.

Latimer also said there have been some reports of pharmacies having difficulty administering the required second dose of the vaccine.

"This is uncharted territory for us," he said.

If you can't resolve the issue of not being able to get the second dose with the pharmacy, you should call the county health department at 914-813-5000, Latimer said.

Coronavirus Numbers Update

As of Sunday, there are 5,458 active cases of the coronavirus. That is down from Saturday's 5,944.

More than 121,000 positive cases have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic.

As of Saturday, there have been 2,210 fatalities. There were 238 hospitalizations.

Latimer said more than 225,000 Westchester residents have received their first and second doses, meaning 30 percent of the population is fully vaccinated.

The Westchester County COVID-19 Dashboard can be found here.

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