Key Takeaways:
- Moderna will charge $130 per dose for the next Covid vaccines unless individuals do not have insurance.
- Senator Bernie Sanders is upset with any charge whatsoever for a Covid vaccination.
- Pharmaceutical industry observers believe the time was ripe in 2020 to negotiate purchase contracts with pharmaceutical companies.
WISCONSIN (CoinChapter.com) — Moderna is in a Catch-22 – the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company will charge for Covid vaccines for the insured while, at the same time, providing free doses to those without insurance.
As long as federal inventories last, vaccine doses are generally provided free of charge to everyone who requests one in the United States; however, Moderna will soon change that.
When the time comes for a revised Covid vaccine, which is anticipated to be tailored to whatever strain of the virus is in circulation later this year, patients will be responsible for the cost of a shot on their own if their health insurance doesn’t cover it. The suggested cost is approximately $130 per dose.
US Senator Bernie Sanders is Furious
Senator Bernie Sanders said, “How is the CEO of this corporation expressing gratitude to the citizens of this nation who paid taxes and made him and his coworkers extremely wealthy?” Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna, has been invited to testify before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which Senator Sanders leads, on March 22.
Mr. Bancel’s appearance before the committee was announced on the same day that Moderna declared it would give the vaccine free of charge to people with no insurance or inadequate insurance.
Patient support initiatives have long been a pharmaceutical industry’s strategy staple. They permit businesses to keep their prices high while deflecting some of the criticism. The drawback is that patients must clear several hoops to receive these medicinal items for free or at a reduced price.
According to Association of Immunization Managers executive director Claire Hannan, paperwork and red tape may be a serious concern.
However, she believes some people would do it if they needed the medicine. Ms. Hannon said:
“It is worthwhile for patients to go through even a difficult application process if they take expensive medications for cancer treatment or chronic diseases because they may have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars in drug expenditures over time.”
Vaccine Price Negotiation Should Have Been Taken Care of in 2020
Observers in the pharmaceutical industry claim that in 2020, when Operation Warp Speed was negotiating vaccine development and purchase contracts with pharmaceutical companies like Johnson and Johnson, Moderna, Pfizer, and others, that would have been the ideal time for the government to drive a hard bargain on future pricing.
Last October, Pfizer executives informed investors that they anticipated commercially charging between $110 and $130 per dosage for their COVID-19 vaccine.
According to Pfizer, it also aims to implement a “patient aid” program to help cover such expenses. Unfortunately, the business did not choose to receive the same level of public assistance and participation as Moderna did in the early stages of vaccine research.
Still, it nevertheless won several significant government contracts. The third Project Warp Speed vaccine manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, has yet to disclose the retail price for its vaccination in the United States.
