One Medical has charged some patients a fee for the COVID-19 vaccine

Healthcare company One Medical has charged administration fees to some people receiving COVID-19 vaccines in Washington, DC, according to bills reviewed by The edge. The company operates the COVID-19 vaccination site at DC’s Entertainment and Sports Arena. People vaccinated at this site were also asked to sign up for a trial account with One Medical to receive the vaccines.

A doctor said The edge in a statement that an error in the billing system has led to charges, that affected patients “are notified” and that they should ignore the bill. “We monitor daily to make sure that no new invoices are sent,” One Medical said.

There is not supposed to be a charge associated with the COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Vaccine vendors may be reimbursed by insurance companies or federal programs for the cost of administering the vaccine, but the CDC’s Frequently Asked Questions page states that they cannot bill patients directly for these costs. ‘administration. The DC Department of Health did not respond to a request for comment by post.

Chris Driver, who lives in northeast DC, says he has been charged by One Medical for the two doses of the Pfizer vaccine. He provided his insurance information when he signed up for the first shot, but he was still billed a total of $ 56.94 – $ 16.94 for the first dose and $ 40 for the second. dose. After receiving the bill for the first dose, Driver tweeted to One Medical on March 18 asking why he was charged. The company responded that it would waive the fees. More than two weeks later, the first charge was still on her account, and the second dose charges were added.

The accusations seem inconsistent. The driver’s wife was also vaccinated at the One Medical site, but he says she has not received a bill. But another person who received a first dose of the vaccine at the One Medical site was billed $ 40 by One Medical, according to a bill reviewed by The edge. This person – who wished to remain anonymous to discuss personal health information – did not give out her insurance information when she was vaccinated.

Health officials across the country are working to improve vaccine equity by removing barriers to registration, such as complex websites or the perception that there is a burden associated with the vaccine. It’s a big deal in Washington, DC, where richer areas have much higher vaccination rates than poorer areas and communities of color.

“While I can afford a random medical bill of $ 55 if this happens, I know that isn’t always the case for a lot of people in town,” Driver said in a direct message on Twitter. Millions of people say they won’t get the shot because they’re worried about the costs, according to a U.S. Census survey – even though the shots are free. “The federal government provides the vaccine free of charge to everyone living in the United States, regardless of immigration or health insurance status,” the CDC website says.

People who get vaccinated in other states have also been stranded with bills. A clinic in Houston, Texas, charged $ 30 for each dose of vaccine, 13 Investigations found. Texas State Department Health Services said 13 Investigations that providers shouldn’t charge people a fee.

One Medical, which was backed by Alphabet’s venture capital group, GV, provides janitorial primary care in more than a dozen cities (including Washington, DC) for an annual fee of $ 199. A handful of states have given the company doses of the vaccine to administer. A NPR the investigation in February found that he was shooting people who were not eligible in California and Washington state. These states have stopped giving vaccines to One Medical after receiving complaints.

Technical Director Lucy Caldwell tells The edge she canceled her membership with One Medical after a family member was accused of the COVID-19 vaccine at her Washington, DC site. In an email response to his complaint, a representative told him that bills were paid to patients “by default” if they did not provide insurance information. The representative said the fees are waived if the business is notified and “dozens” of people have the problem.

People vaccinated on the One Medical site were also asked to sign up for a trial membership in its health service. “It sounded like a red flag to me, because I couldn’t believe the city was asking people to sign up for a health care subscription service in order to get the vaccine,” Driver said. “But I did it because I wanted to get shot.” Signing up for the free trial did not ask for billing information and indicated that the service would not renew automatically.

A doctor said The edge that he needed this information to create a patient record for those vaccinated on his site.

Privacy watch groups are concerned that private companies are using the COVID-19 vaccine administration process to collect personal data from potential customers. Pharmacies like Walgreens require people to create an account online in order to register for a vaccine appointment. Consumer rights organizations have asked attorneys general in Democratic states to investigate how companies use this data.

“We don’t want people to want to get vaccinated – and frankly, protect themselves and their loved ones – to take advantage of it,” said Andrew Crawford, an attorney at the Center for Democracy and Technology. Politico.