The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an additional payment for giving in-home COVID-19 vaccinations to Medicare beneficiaries who have difficulty either leaving their homes or getting to a vaccination site. This initiative, part of President Biden’s commitment to increase access to vaccinations, could potentially affect about 1.6 million Americans 65 and older who are homebound and might have trouble accessing the COVID-19 vaccine.
“We are committed to taking action wherever barriers exist,” according to CMS Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, “and bringing the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to the door of older adults and other individuals covered by Medicare who still need protection.”[1]
Medicare will pay an additional $35 per dose, on top of the current approximate payment of $40, bringing the total payment for COVID-19 vaccinations administered in a beneficiary’s home to about $75 per dose. For a two-dose vaccine, the total payment will be approximately $150 for both – approximately $70 more than the current rate. The additional payment also accounts for the clinical time needed to monitor the beneficiary after the vaccine is administered.
June 10, 2021 – C. St. John
[1] CMS. Biden Administration Continues Efforts to Increase Vaccinations By Bolstering Payments for At-Home COVID-19 Vaccinations for Medicare Beneficiaries. (June 9, 2021). Available at: https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-administration-continues-efforts-increase-vaccinations-bolstering-payments-home-covid-19