Connect with us

Health

The COVID vaccine program provided a “bridge” for uninsured adults, but has since run out of funding.

The COVID vaccine program provided a “bridge” for uninsured adults, but has since run out of funding.

 


Uninsured adults will no longer have the option to receive a free coronavirus vaccine this August, weeks before the latest vaccines are scheduled to be released for the respiratory virus season. .

Launched by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2023, the Bridge Access Program began as a way to connect U.S. adults with little or no health insurance to COVID vaccines. The program began just as vaccines were transitioning from federal control to the private market, complicating vaccine access for many people who previously had more freedom over where to get vaccinated.

Instead of offering the vaccine free to anyone who can get an appointment, people with health insurance can find a COVID-19 vaccine at a location approved by their insurance plan or get the vaccine at their own expense.

Raynard Washington, North Carolina's Mecklenburg County health director, said the rollout of the coronavirus vaccine early in the pandemic was a “great example of health equity” because “it wasn't about cost.”

But the end of federal coverage for COVID vaccinations last fall suddenly left millions of people without insurance or adequate coverage unable to get vaccinated. It's estimated that in 2022, 26 million Americans — about 8% of the U.S. population — have no health insurance. Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, and the surrounding area, more than 1 in 10 residents lack health insurance, said Washington, who saw how the bridge program helped uninsured people get the vaccine that protects them against the risk of severe COVID infection after the pandemic public health emergency ended.

North Carolina's Medicaid expansion last December also helped connect people to the health insurance they needed, but “large numbers of adults remain left behind,” Washington added.

read more: How uninsured adults can get the coronavirus vaccine

More than 1.4 million COVID vaccine doses have been administered nationwide through the Bridge Access Program since September, including to more than 812,000 people who are uninsured, the release said. Email between CDC spokesperson and CBS News reporter. It was modeled on his successful children's vaccine program, which he started in 1994 in response to the measles epidemic. Prevented approximately 30 million hospitalizations and hundreds of millions of illnessesAccording to CDC estimates.

But in March, Congressional budget negotiations led to the slashing of $4.3 billion in additional COVID-19 funding from the Department of Health and Human Services, a move that ended the Bridge Program, which was set to expire in December and covered vaccinations this fall during the respiratory virus pandemic, ahead of schedule. Now, the program is set to run out of funding in August.

State and local public health departments are looking for ways to intervene, but these agencies have been chronically underfunded for years, even before the pandemic began. Now that COVID-related funding has dried up, these institutions have even fewer resources available.

Without the Bridge Access Program, “there will not be enough local resources to purchase vaccines for all the uninsured,” Washington said.

“This speaks to the importance of moving towards a universal vaccine,” he said.

Chrissy Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, said federally qualified health centers could also step in and that a pool of federal funds called the Section 317 Vaccination Program Infrastructure Fund could help close the gap. These funds are intended to: Improving vaccine access, safety and effectiveness It can cover outreach and related programs, but it doesn't solve everything.

“We need to think creatively and get vaccines and other preventive services to those who need them most,” Giuliano said.

Sources

1/ https://Google.com/

2/ https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/this-covid-vaccine-program-offered-a-bridge-to-uninsured-adults-and-then-the-funding-crumbled

The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos

ExBUlletin

to request, modification Contact us at Here or [email protected]