Congress fails to fund HRSA COVID-19 Uninsured Program

Congress left Washington, D.C., on a two-week recess in their states without addressing the lapsed funding for the Health Resources & Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) COVID-19 Uninsured Program. The program stopped accepting claims for COVID-19 testing and treatment on March 22, 2022, and COVID-19 vaccinations on April 5, 2022.

It could take Congress at least 3 weeks or longer to reach an agreement on additional COVID-19 funding, which means pharmacies and other health care practitioners will not be able to file uninsured claims for administering COVID-19 vaccinations for some time.

A tentative agreement between Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) would have provided an additional $10 billion in emergency COVID-19 supplemental funding. However, a vote was delayed due to a disagreement over the CDC policy that allows U.S. border officials to stop asylum-seekers on public health grounds. Even if there were a vote, it is unclear if any of the $10 billion in the tentative Schumer/Romney agreement would have funded the COVID-19 Uninsured Program.

In a joint letter, APhA and other state and national pharmacy organizations recently urged Congress to immediately pass legislation to fully fund the COVID-19 Uninsured Program.

APhA is urging pharmacists to tell Congress to preserve access to COVID-19 vaccinations and fully fund HRSA’s programs for uninsured patients before pharmacists are forced to reconsider whether to stay in the CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Program.

Click here to tell Congress to fund the COVID-19 Uninsured Program!