Political Quotes

“Mr. President, as our Nation battles another wave of COVID-19, I want to detail my efforts to lower barriers for Americans to access lifesaving vaccinations against this terrible disease. The Special Committee on Aging's investigation forced the largest commercial health insurer in the United States to reverse course and make whole providers who were paid far below the market rate for administering COVID-19 vaccines. These efforts will help ensure that every provider who can administer COVID-19 vaccines is doing so, helping get more shots in arms. Last year, news reports detailed how UnitedHealth had been shortchanging pediatricians who were vaccinating children against COVID-19. In short, Medicare set reimbursement rates for participating providers at $40 per dose in mid-March 2021. The Federal Government strongly recommended that private carriers do the same and most appear to have done so within weeks, but UnitedHealth did not. The committee's investigation found that UnitedHealth paid in-network providers roughly 40 percent below the Medicare rate until July 1, 2021. Further, the company delayed action to make providers whole. During the investigation, pediatricians in Pennsylvania and beyond raised concerns that UnitedHealth's original reimbursement rate could dissuade providers from administering the vaccine.…”