U.S. government plans to stop paying for COVID-19 shots, treatments: report

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Biden administration is planning for an end to paying for COVID-19 shots and treatments, shifting the bill to insurers and patients for years to come, according to a report of The Wall Street Journal.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will hold a planning session on Aug. 30 that would bring together representatives from drugmakers, pharmacies and state health departments with a stake in a COVID-19 treatment industry, according to the report.

Participants to the meeting are expected to discuss reimbursement and coverage, regulatory issues and access to vaccines and treatment for the uninsured, according to the report.

Shifting payments for COVID-19 drugs and vaccines to the commercial market is expected to take months, the report cited a spokesman of the HHS as saying.

The change presents challenges including how to make shots and treatments available to the roughly 30 million people without insurance coverage, said the report.

The U.S. government has been purchasing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments and making them available at no cost during the pandemic.

White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha said last Tuesday the Biden administration had taken steps to get past the crisis phase of the pandemic and will stop buying vaccines, treatments and tests as early as this fall.