I volunteered at a mass distribution point (in a different state) and the insurance information was on the scheduling form (I was scheduling attendees for their 2nd shot). However we were told it wasn’t necessary whatsoever and to skip over it. I’m assuming that’s because the federal govt has already paid for the vaccines?
When W scheduled her 1st shot through a pharmacy, the form also had questions on insurance. Based on my experience I told her to skip it (we wanted to complete the form quickly to not lose the slot) and she got the appointment and shot with no questions about it. In both cases, most likely the developers just reused a standard medical scheduling application that has those fields even though it’s not needed.
I believe that insurance information is not required because vaccines have been paid for by the government. But if insurance information is provided, then they will bill your insurance but it will still be at no cost to you.
When I was signing people up for vaccines in nyc, I just checked off no insurance because I didn’t have the info. I think it was just for information gathering.
the advantage about checking ‘no insurance’ or skipping that page is the speed of getting to booking an appointment on many of the websites. When I was booking an appt for FIL in Virginia, by the time I received his confirm, all other appointments that day were full. Unless insurance info is required, time spent inputting insurance info is time lost to scheduling (depending on how the rez website is setup).
You can probably assume that any mass vax site will NOT be seeking insurance info. (think about it, everyone is eligible and paid for by the feds including undocumenteds and uninsured, so why waste the time at a mass vax site?) OTOH, private vax sites are allowed to charge an Admin/jab fee (for labor, not the vaccine itself), so they may be looking for insurance to cover their fee.
The pharmacy can get a fee for giving the shot from insurance (and Medicare also). You may be asked for insurance when you go for the shot whether you filled it in or not. But presently a majority of people have a medicare number. But there is no charge for the shot to you (if you don’t have insurance there is still no charge.)
And I got my first shot just an hour ago! Yea!! In just a few days I could have had a choice of Moderna or JnJ. I decided on the Moderna anyways.
The pharmacy website was updated (they were very responsive to critique) to let you book the appointment time FIRST and then allowed x number of minutes to fill out the forms. Worked much better.
Riteaid also changed their website, so that you can get an appointment and then get your information in. It was very helpful that my husband and I had already filled in our information when we checked in at the pharmacy the day of our appointment. Made checking in very easy. And as I said before, our vaccine is already in our medical records.
No surprise that low SES people tend to be less successful at the vaccine appointment competition, given issues like less likelihood of good computers and internet, less likelihood of being able to travel far for a vaccine, not being the target reader of the Wall Street Journal, etc.
The same people who suffered another pandemic hurdle - virtual schooling. Lack of internet, no private space for quiet schooling, lack of tech help (parents may be phone techs but not computer techs)
This is an article which is specific to Michigan but I thought was interesting in how different counties were reaching out to seniors. Sounds like Grand Traverse County has a system to reach out to its seniors and 80% of them are now being vaccinated.
2nd shot (Pfizer) yesterday. Arm sore and didn’t sleep well, basically felt like I do if I do a day of physical work. Just achy. Didn’t take any pain med so didn’t sleep great so very tired today. Also not at home so not in my own bed which could have contributed.
Our experience so far: me 58 1st Moderna on Monday slightly sore arm, H 59 1st Moderna on Monday sore arm, S 22 J&J yesterday chills, headache, very tired - same symptoms as when he had COVID in early Dec.
I signed up for a couple of distribution systems and skipped all the insurance questions (if they even asked them). I ended up getting mine at a clinic that my doctor/hosp system uses and they only wanted an ID to prove it was me. She specifically said “I don’t need an insurance card”
My mother was registered by my nephew and she received an QR code so didn’t even need an ID or insurance care. There is no fee in our state and insurance companies are not being billed. Our governor used covid funds to eliminate the ‘injection charge’ sometimes collected so no one is paying anything OOP or through insurance.
That article is hilarious. Suggestions like “If you get a slot, you’ll be asked to fill out a questionnaire longer than a mortgage application. Select “Don’t Know” if you’re moving fast and don’t have time to read each question.”
My H, mom and I got our Pfizer shots in Jan & Feb. We provided our insurance info and have not received any bills to date, even though we do not belong to the insurer (HMO) where we received the shot. We were told at injection site we would receive a bill for the injection fee that we would have to pay and could submit the claim to our insurer for reimbursement. So far, no bill.
I have Pfizer set up for tomorrow! Looking forward to having it done - just before Easter. Nice present the bunny is bringing (the day before for my final shot, so kids can still get their candy).
Phew - just found out med school lad had Pfizer too. I didn’t remember which one he had. Now I’m confident our chips should be able to communicate without issue.
That’s how I’m responding to skeptics who fear for my safety, though on this thread I just thought folks might like some comic relief. Never really thought I’d have to deal with skeptics, but yep, they’re out there. I’m also telling them I like the odds better with the vaccine than without, but if I really do draw the short straw and somehow the vaccine kills me even though millions have gotten it safely, I’m still pro vaccine and pretty much assume Covid would have killed me too if I’d gotten it.
I’ve actually been wondering if a strong reaction to the vaccine is correlated/predictive of a strong covid-19 reaction.
That is, if you get sick from the vaccine, you likely would’ve gotten very sick from covid. So if you get nausea and fever from the vaccine, then count your lucky stars because without it, you probably would’ve landed in the hospital if you caught covid. In my head it sort of makes sense since the immune reaction drives some of the symptoms in both cases.
But the converse might be true - those who had a rough go with covid might likely have a strong reaction to the vaccine. That would be interesting to read about if any research is done on it, and people who’ve been through both could share their experience.
