FROM THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES

Timothy M. O’Shea, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin; Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin; Lamont Pugh III, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Chicago Region (HHS-OIG); and Karen Timberlake, Secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, advise the public that they should not be asked to pay any costs to receive the COVID-19 vaccine and warn COVID-19 vaccination providers not to seek payment from individual COVID-19 vaccine recipients.

COVID-19 vaccination providers participating in the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccination Program are required to sign a provider agreement to receive and dispense vaccines. Among the requirements in the agreement, providers must not sell or seek reimbursement for the COVID-19 vaccine or any related supplies and must administer the vaccine regardless of the recipient’s ability to pay. While providers may seek appropriate reimbursement from a public benefit program or private insurance program or plan that covers COVID-19 vaccine administration fees, providers may not seek any reimbursement from the vaccine recipient.