With the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic having ended in May, the St. Joseph County Health Department plans to soon start billing insurance providers for vaccines.
The county’s Board of Health will consider imposing the new fees at a special meeting Tuesday.
If approved by the board, the health department would create a new $200 fee for COVID vaccines given to children age six months to four years; a $100 fee for kids age five through eleven, and $140 for people age 12 and older.
As with any other vaccine, the health department will bill insurance providers, and whether patients share any of the cost will depend on their deductible and co-pay. The health department also will have a “bridge fund” available for people who can’t afford to pay anything.
The department also seeks approval of a $25 fee for a new RSV vaccine. The nursing staff wants to start making that vaccine available to pregnant women and older adults who have health problems that put them at higher risk for the respiratory illness.
