Many customers getting ripped off on Flu shots


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You really should get a flu shot.

But if you get one at a drugstore, you might find yourself wondering whether they're playing fast and loose with people's insurance coverage so the company can score some extra cash.

Paul Rubenstein, 39, has faced such a possibility for two years. The Mar Vista resident is insured by Anthem Blue Cross. His wife is insured by Health Net.

Last year, they went to a local CVS store for flu shots. The pharmacy worker ran both their insurance cards through the computer and said that neither insurer was covering vaccinations.

So Rubenstein and his wife paid about $30 each for the shots and went on their way.

This year, he decided to check in advance. Rubenstein called Anthem to ask whether he was covered for a flu shot. A company rep answered that, yes, he was covered.

So Rubenstein recently visited a nearby Albertsons and requested a shot at the store's Sav-On drugstore. The worker ran his insurance card through the system and said it didn't look as if Rubenstein was covered.

It was only after Rubenstein insisted that his insurer covered flu shots that the store worker tried the card again and, lo and behold, this time it showed he was covered.

An Anthem spokesman confirmed for me that flu shots are covered at most retail pharmacies.

Rubenstein said he later shared his experience with a colleague, who responded that she, too, had been told that her insurance didn't cover flu shots.

In her case, it was a Rite-Aid worker making the claim, and, as with Rubenstein, the pharmacy worker somehow managed to discover that coverage existed only after the woman stood her ground.

At this point, I'd be prepared to chalk all this off to coincidence. But then the same thing happened to me.

I stopped by a CVS store in West Los Angeles and requested a flu shot. I had been getting mine at CVS for the last few years, and each time it had been covered by my company's health insurer.

Not this time. The pharmacy worker checked the system and said that neither I nor my wife was covered for flu shots. If we wanted them, we'd have to pay about $30 each.

I contacted my insurer. A company rep was confused by the situation. "You're definitely covered for flu shots," she said. "CVS shouldn't be a problem."

So I went to a different CVS, this one with a so-called MinuteClinic staffed by a nurse practitioner. She ran my insurance card through the system and ? what do you know? ? it showed I was covered. :huh:

Should it make a difference whether someone seeks a flu shot from a CVS pharmacy or from a MinuteClinic? It shouldn't. They're both owned by the same parent company, CVS Caremark.

But Mike DeAngelis, a CVS spokesman, said the company's drugstores and MinuteClinics "are two separate practice settings and they contract for flu shot coverage separately."

"While many insurance plans are accepted by both CVS pharmacy and MinuteClinic for flu vaccinations, it is not uncommon for there to be some differences," he said.

DeAngelis emphasized that it's up to insurers and employers to select "a covered practice setting," even if those two practice settings are owned by the same company and are under the same roof.

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I got a flu shot a week or so ago. These are optional so are not covered by our NHS.  Cost me ?7.50 at my local supermarket pharmacy, that's $12.15 US.  You guys are seriously ripped off...

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I've almost never had a flu shot in the last few years. I almost never get sick, so I guess that's why. And When I do get sick, it's like a mild cold with light symptoms for like 3 days max. Guess i'm lucky.

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I got a flu shot a week or so ago. These are optional so are not covered by our NHS.  Cost me ?7.50 at my local supermarket pharmacy, that's $12.15 US.  You guys are seriously ripped off...

 

And mine was free.....(American)

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every store around me right now has free flu shots... without any insurance coverage... and all the major insurance carriers around here cover them for free.... (western Pennsylvania) heck most of the businesses around here that I know have company flu shot days were you can get them for free at work

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^ That's so they can get bad germs into you, then later charge a fortune for prescription meds. :shifty:

all our local stores have free antibiotics :laugh: so kinda rules that out also

 

but then the free antibiotics kinda make another problem, people over using them and getting immune bacteria....

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I know I have had problems with places telling me something isn't covered by my insurance, so I have to pay for it, and then they charge my insurance company and get two payments. You can't trust anyone these days.

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Only get a flu shot if I happen to have a dr. appointment around that/this time of year. Am covered by our insurance.

 

Just had an appointment a few weeks ago, but apparently the vaccines weren't out yet. Dr. never asked if I wanted one and she's usually a stickler on this.

 

No scheduled appointments until my physical in March now! :)

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Standard Vaxigrip flu shot: 6.14 Euros or 8.50 USD reimboursed 65% by Social Security, totally free for people over 65 or fragile people.

 

Number one problem of the US healthcare system: private companies motivated by profits, ripping customers off, certainly not Obamacare ...

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I know I have had problems with places telling me something isn't covered by my insurance, so I have to pay for it, and then they charge my insurance company and get two payments. You can't trust anyone these days.

If that ever happens, report it to your carrier immediately, and they will reimburse you for your payment and they will also go yell at the provider for doing it.

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Number one problem of the US healthcare system: private companies motivated by profits, ripping customers off, certainly not Obamacare ...

You're right about the first part and with the second save for the fact that Obamacare simply props up the current corrupt system.

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I'm glad I live in Denmark where I don't have to worry about stuff like this.

 

I'm pretty sure they're free here in Norway.

 

though I've never taken one since I can handle a round of flu. it anything it would only make my body stronger, and the flu shot only protects against 5 strains anyway, you may end up getting one of those they didn't expect this year and still get the flu...

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If that ever happens, report it to your carrier immediately, and they will reimburse you for your payment and they will also go yell at the provider for doing it.

 

Oh, I do, not that it does much good. The system is full of abuse. I think the carriers sort of expect it now. 

 

That said, I haven't had a flu shot in years. See no need for them.

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sounds like these places just want to rip people off. 

 

I am allergic to the serum used in them so i never get them however, where I work Flu Shots are free and provided during our twice annual health fair. They encourage us to get them and to schedule to have our family come in and get them as well. they even have incentives for us to participate in the health fair (giveaways and cash rewards for completing so many stations at the health fair)

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That said, I haven't had a flu shot in years. See no need for them.

I'm sure the weakest people in society feel the same way... oh wait.
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Got forced into flu shot this year. I haven't gotten the flu shot in over 10 years. Never got the flu. Been around people who had the flu, coughed on with people who had the flu, puked on by people with the flu, sneezed on by someone with the flu.

Never got the flu. We'll see this year. If I get it I'm going to be ######.

Normally I get a sinus infection few times a year that turns into bronchitis.

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Never had flu, very rarely even get a cold.

 

My mother usually has a flu shot, but this year decided not to, as it always made her ill.

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I don't remember the last time I got a flu shot, back when I was a kid and my parents would have been in charge of that kind of thing. Coincidentally, I haven't had the flu since I was a kid either, and I only remember it happening once.

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