Is this legal?

Some companies administering Covid shots are requesting health insurance
info from patients. This is in spite of the fact that the shots are
supposed to be free and totally paid for by the government. Apparently,
the shots are still administered if a patient says they don't have insurance
or simply refuses to provide the information, but many people feel pressured into providing the information or assume wrongly that providing the
information is mandatory.

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On 5/6/2021 11:37 AM, Rick wrote:

Is this legal?

Some companies administering Covid shots are requesting health insurance
info from patients.  This is in spite of the fact that the shots are supposed to be free and totally paid for by the government.
Apparently, the shots are still administered if a patient says they
don't have insurance or simply refuses to provide the information, but
many people feel pressured into providing the information or assume
wrongly that providing the information is mandatory.

See

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html

COVID-19 vaccination providers cannot:

Charge you for the vaccine
Charge you directly for any administration fees, copays, or coinsurance
Deny vaccination to anyone who does not have health insurance
coverage, is underinsured, or is out of network
Charge an office visit or other fee to the recipient if the only
service provided is a COVID-19 vaccination
Require additional services in order for a person to receive a
COVID-19 vaccine; however, additional healthcare services can be
provided at the same time and billed as appropriate

COVID-19 vaccination providers can:

Seek appropriate reimbursement from the recipient’s plan or program (e.g., private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid) for a vaccine administration fee
However, providers cannot charge the vaccine recipient the
balance of the bill
Seek reimbursement for uninsured vaccine recipients from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Uninsured Program

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On 5/6/2021 2:40 PM, Roy wrote:

On 5/6/2021 11:37 AM, Rick wrote:

Is this legal?

Some companies administering Covid shots are requesting health
insurance info from patients.  This is in spite of the fact that the
shots are supposed to be free and totally paid for by the government.
Apparently, the shots are still administered if a patient says they
don't have insurance or simply refuses to provide the information, but
many people feel pressured into providing the information or assume
wrongly that providing the information is mandatory.

See

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/faq.html

COVID-19 vaccination providers cannot:

   Charge you for the vaccine
   Charge you directly for any administration fees, copays, or coinsurance
   Deny vaccination to anyone who does not have health insurance
coverage, is underinsured, or is out of network
   Charge an office visit or other fee to the recipient if the only service provided is a COVID-19 vaccination
   Require additional services in order for a person to receive a
COVID-19 vaccine; however, additional healthcare services can be
provided at the same time and billed as appropriate

COVID-19 vaccination providers can:

   Seek appropriate reimbursement from the recipient’s plan or program (e.g., private health insurance, Medicare, Medicaid) for a vaccine administration fee
       However, providers cannot charge the vaccine recipient the balance of the bill
   Seek reimbursement for uninsured vaccine recipients from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Uninsured Program

I.e. it seems to me that they can ASK for the info so they can try to
get reimbursed from your insurance, which MAY wind up as a larger
payment to them as opposed to what the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Uninsured Program may pay them.

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According to Rick <rick@nospam.com>:

Is this legal?

Some companies administering Covid shots are requesting health insurance
info from patients. This is in spite of the fact that the shots are
supposed to be free and totally paid for by the government. ...

The vaccination is free to the recipient, but that doesn't mean it
is totally paid for by the government. If you have insurance, the
insurance pays for it with no copay from you. If you have no insurance
the government pays.

My insurance paid $16 for the first shot, $26.33 for the second. I paid $0.
--
Regards,
John Levine, johnl@taugh.com, Primary Perpetrator of "The Internet for Dummies",
Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail. https://jl.ly

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On 5/6/2021 11:37 AM, Rick wrote:

Is this legal?

Some companies administering Covid shots are requesting health insurance
info from patients.  This is in spite of the fact that the shots are supposed to be free and totally paid for by the government.
Apparently, the shots are still administered if a patient says they
don't have insurance or simply refuses to provide the information, but
many people feel pressured into providing the information or assume
wrongly that providing the information is mandatory.

Generally speaking, you can request whatever you want.(*) As long as you
don't require it as a condition of providing the service.

(*) some questions could be problematic. For example, if you ask
somebody's religion, the government might reasonably investigate to see
if you are discriminating on the basis of religion. But there might be a reason, e.g., a mortuary might ask so they can arrange for burial in the appropriate cemetary. Or a Christian hospital might ask so they can
provide non-Christians with a room without Christian symbols.

(I spent three days in a Catholic hospital because it was the nearest ER
to my home. I had my wife take something over the crucifix on the wall
of my room so I wouldn't have to look at it.)

--
I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

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