Private providers can bill insurance companies for performing the shot, and those without insurance are covered by the government.
Health officials in Chicago want to make it clear after a Chicago clinic learned the hard way.
Chicago health commissioner Dr. Allison Arwady said her inspectors are investigating urgent care centers in the city to determine if vaccine patients to be be charged in violation of the program regulations.
“I want people in Chicago to hear that they shouldn’t be billed directly for receiving a COVID vaccine …” said Arwady.
Jamie Gentry said she was shocked and very disappointed to find out unexpectedly that she would have to pay nearly $ 200 to get the vaccine at Michigan Avenue Immediate Care in Chicago.
Gentry said she was eligible for a vaccine as an essential worker, regularly volunteering at a food pantry.
She booked a vaccine through ZocDoc, the website Chicago uses to help people track down providers who have signed up to provide the vaccines.
Gentry said it took 16 hours to find one. When she accidentally booked two appointments and had to call the clinic to cancel, she said she was told the facility was outside her insurance network and that she would have to pay a fee of nearly $ 200 out of pocket.
“I went into the planning and assumed the vaccine would be free and I thought I would pay a 15 or $ 20 administration fee at most. So I was really shocked and very disappointed,” said Gentry.
Dr. Jim Runke, Michigan Avenue Immediate Care co-medical director, said this was a huge mistake.
He told the I-Team they were unaware that consumers who had no insurance or were not networked could not be charged a fee – and said they charged the 20 patients out of the 1,500 vaccinated in the past month will refund. .
“So yes, that definitely fell through the cracks,” Runke said. “That was all our fault … I’ve been doing this for 30 years now, insurance billing is hugely complicated and confusing. It’s always kind of the last part of the puzzle piece we figure out, and hear it be. It rears its ugly head in the middle of this thing when we’re only focused on patient safety, focused on the safety of our staff and stuff like that, so no excuses. ”
Arwady emphasized that the health department does not regulate these facilities, but that the city does make decisions about who gets the vaccine. She said her department is investigating these complaints and is in talks with providers.
“It usually has to do with urgent concerns, which are usually more of a payment for service than people paying back the insurance, so we bring those groups together and we just want to make sure that what people are doing is appropriate in terms of what is allowed, ”said Arwady.
Jamie Gentry said she received an apology and explanation from Dr. Jim Runke at the Michigan Avenue clinic who falsely charged her nearly $ 200.
Runke and public health officials agree that vaccine patients can be legitimately charged for additional services provided at the time an injection is given, including for medical treatment and consultations about other illnesses.
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