County Commissioners Talk Reimbursement For COVID Vaccines

vaccine-2-safe-11
vaccine-2-safe-11

Should the Berrien County Health Department be reimbursed by health insurers for the cost of administering COVID-19 vaccines? During this week’s meeting of the Berrien County Board of Commissioners, an item on the agenda was an adjustment to the department’s fee schedule that would pave the way for that. Commissioner Bob Harrison explained the $40 reimbursement up for consideration would only apply when a patient has health insurance, and only to the insurance company. The patient would not have to pay anything. However, Commissioner Ezra Scott took issue with the idea of the reimbursement.

“We have received millions of dollars in Cares Act funding, so I do not see the necessity to charge insurance companies for a $40 admin fee when we’ve already got money in for that,” Scott said.

Some commissioners wondered if the $40 would be seen as a disincentive to get the vaccine, even if it would not be charged directly to the patient. In the end, the commission voted to table the issue until October. The Berrien County Health Department tells us the reimbursement would only apply to the insurer if the patient had insurance. The reimbursement would not be for the shots, but for the associated costs of administering them. For now, nothing will change.