Gov. Hochul Asks Insurance Companies to Pay for Vaccination Consultations, Incentives, and Rewards

By Yehudit Garmaise

Gov. Kathy Hochul said this morning that one way to increase childhood vaccination rates, “which are nowhere near where they should be,” is to require insurance companies to cover doctors’ visits in which parents can get their questions answered and their concerns addressed.

In early December President Joe Biden required Medicaid to cover COVID-vaccine counseling visits, so physicians can get reimbursed for their time: whether or not children end up getting vaccinated.

“I believe that this coverage [for COVID consultation doctors’ visits] should be extended to all insurers, not just to people who are covered by Medicaid: but to all families,” said Gov. Hochul, who is also calling on insurance companies to pay for incentives and rewards, such as “ski packages,” she said that might encourage children to want to get their shots and persuade parents to bring their children to get vaccinated.

The Department of Financial Services, which the governor said “will offer guidance on this” to New York insurances companies, “already offers all kinds of wellness incentives, such as for people to join gyms and to eat healthier.”

Today, Pfizer requested emergency-use authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration for a COVID-19 vaccine that provide an extra low, one-tenth of a normal dose: for children 5 and younger.

Meanwhile, Gov. Hochul asked, “Why don’t we just take care of the 5 to 11-year-olds first? Their older siblings are getting vaccinated. We know it is safe.

The state has already provided boosters to 6 million residents, but Gov. Hochul wants New Yorkers to know that boosters “are the extra security blankets you can wrap yourselves in, so you can say, ‘If I do get COVID, the symptoms will be minor compared to if I didn’t get boosted.’”