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CMS to Increase Vaccinations By Bolstering Payments for At-Home COVID-19 Vaccinations for Medicare Beneficiaries

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDIsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTA2MDkuNDE3MDEyODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jbXMuZ292LyJ9.dFNEWWeupr_kyKspceDPvQ3BWNLjyNo1PizlFOklff4/s/1523939342/br/107669184171-l> today announced<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDMsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTA2MDkuNDE3MDEyODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jbXMuZ292L25ld3Nyb29tL3ByZXNzLXJlbGVhc2VzL2JpZGVuLWFkbWluaXN0cmF0aW9uLWNvbnRpbnVlcy1lZmZvcnRzLWluY3JlYXNlLXZhY2NpbmF0aW9ucy1ib2xzdGVyaW5nLXBheW1lbnRzLWhvbWUtY292aWQtMTkifQ.xznEGpPezLHJC1ObEIy1RxXKbXyexB1oKcVbn5kpUsk/s/1523939342/br/107669184171-l> an additional payment amount for administering in-home COVID-19 vaccinations to Medicare beneficiaries who have difficulty leaving their homes or are otherwise hard-to-reach. There are approximately 1.6 million adults 65<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDQsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTA2MDkuNDE3MDEyODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2FzcGUuaGhzLmdvdi9ob21lYm91bmQtdmFjY2luZS1jb3ZpZCJ9.YN1hby4qVW8wGeexrD_20sQRLrkk9NKZL-vmJpDG4No/s/1523939342/br/107669184171-l> or older who may have trouble accessing COVID-19 vaccinations because they have difficulty leaving home.

People with disabilities and older adults who are Medicare beneficiaries and have difficulty leaving their homes or traveling to vaccination sites can receive their COVID-19 vaccinations at home under this CMS initiative. The recently launched Disability Information and Access Line (DIAL) is also available to help people with disabilities get vaccinated by connecting them with information in their local area. Call 888-677-1199 Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Eastern) or email xxxxxx@n4a.org<mailto:xxxxxx@n4a.org>. Older adults can find local vaccination help by contacting the Eldercare Locator at 800-677-1116 from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm ET, Monday-Friday or finding their local Area Agency on Aging's contact information by entering their zip code on the search bar at the top of the Locator's homepage<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDUsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTA2MDkuNDE3MDEyODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL2VsZGVyY2FyZS5hY2wuZ292L1B1YmxpYy9pbmRleC5hc3B4In0.BDMdzeskg_0DCdLDYA1c0w22W2GC94_IELkTiLRsH2A/s/1523939342/br/107669184171-l>.

While many Medicare beneficiaries can receive a COVID-19 vaccine at a retail pharmacy, their physician's office, or a mass vaccination site, some beneficiaries have great difficulty leaving their homes or face a taxing effort getting around their communities easily to access vaccination in these settings. To better serve this group, Medicare is incentivizing providers and will pay an additional $35 per dose for COVID-19 vaccine administration in a beneficiary's home, increasing the total payment amount for at-home vaccination from approximately $40 to approximately $75 per vaccine dose. For a two-dose vaccine, this results in a total payment of approximately $150 for the administration of both doses, or approximately $70 more than the current rate.

Delivering COVID-19 vaccination to access-challenged and hard-to-reach individuals poses some unique challenges, such as ensuring appropriate vaccine storage temperatures, handling, and administration. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has outlined guidance<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDYsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTA2MDkuNDE3MDEyODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jZGMuZ292L3ZhY2NpbmVzL2NvdmlkLTE5L2NsaW5pY2FsLWNvbnNpZGVyYXRpb25zL2hvbWVib3VuZC1wZXJzb25zLmh0bWwifQ.UP93ouNi9e2uZy2XekXGwgGSUxpgOfL7pUZa-Zfn5_Y/s/1523939342/br/107669184171-l> to assist vaccinators in overcoming these challenges. Today's announcement now helps to address the associated financial cost.

The additional payment amount also accounts for the clinical time needed to monitor a beneficiary after the vaccine is administered, as well as the upfront costs associated with administering the vaccine safely and appropriately in a beneficiary's home. The payment rate for administering each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the additional in-home payment amount, will be geographically adjusted based on where the service is furnished.

How to Find a COVID-19 Vaccine

As today's action demonstrates, a person's ability to leave their home should not be an obstacle to getting the COVID-19 vaccine. As states and the federal government continue to break down barriers - like where vaccines can be administered - resources for connecting communities to vaccination options remain key. Unvaccinated individuals and those looking to assist friends and family can:

  1.  Visit vaccines.gov (English) or vacunas.gov (Spanish) to search for vaccines nearby.
  2.  Text GETVAX (438829) for English or VACUNA (822862) for Spanish for near-instant access to details on three vaccine sites in the local area.
  3.  Call the National COVID-19 Vaccination Assistance Hotline at 1-800-232-0233 (TTY: 1-888-720-7489) for assistance in English and Spanish.

Coverage of COVID-19 Vaccines

The federal government is providing the COVID-19 vaccine free of charge or with no cost-sharing for all people living in the United States. As a condition of receiving free COVID-19 vaccines from the federal government, vaccine providers cannot charge patients any amount for administering the vaccine.

More information on Medicare payment for COVID-19 vaccine administration - including a list of billing codes, payment allowances and effective dates - is available at https://www.cms.gov/medicare/covid-19/medicare-covid-19-vaccine-shot-payment<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDcsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTA2MDkuNDE3MDEyODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jbXMuZ292L21lZGljYXJlL2NvdmlkLTE5L21lZGljYXJlLWNvdmlkLTE5LXZhY2NpbmUtc2hvdC1wYXltZW50In0.bwShR46H-CyMHWJK3KIgZqbHYIg3Fo92QKRfHK1oA78/s/1523939342/br/107669184171-l>.

More information regarding the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program Provider Requirements and how the COVID-19 vaccine is provided through that program at no cost to recipients is available at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/covid-19/vaccination-provider-support.html<https://lnks.gd/l/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJidWxsZXRpbl9saW5rX2lkIjoxMDgsInVyaSI6ImJwMjpjbGljayIsImJ1bGxldGluX2lkIjoiMjAyMTA2MDkuNDE3MDEyODEiLCJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3d3dy5jZGMuZ292L3ZhY2NpbmVzL2NvdmlkLTE5L3ZhY2NpbmF0aW9uLXByb3ZpZGVyLXN1cHBvcnQuaHRtbCJ9.BfL5_LlL8_0TqlvsMJ1QuZi8klZDtAccgqYcWQasQLs/s/1523939342/br/107669184171-l>.

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