CVS Advertises Free Covid & Flu Shots

Tony Nathanson

Tony Nathanson

Well-known member
Since they're free, I was curious about who pays for the expensive TV ads & the vaccines. And also why they always suggest getting them when customers pick up prescriptions.
Yes, CVS gets paid by health insurance companies or government programs like Medicare when a patient receives a "free" flu shot.

How CVS Gets Paid
    • Direct Billing: CVS Pharmacy directly bills national and regional health plans, commercial insurers, and Medicare Part B for the cost of the vaccine and the administration fee. [1]
    • No Out-of-Pocket Cost: "Free" means the patient has a $0 copay because the Affordable Care Act or the patient's specific insurance policy covers preventative care in full, but the insurer still reimburses CVS for the service. [1, 2]
    • Variable Rates: The exact amount CVS is paid depends on the negotiated rate with each specific insurance provider or the fixed reimbursement rate set by Medicare
 
They are also free at my Kroger pharmacy .

So is the DPT vaccine, or whatever it’s called these days. I only know that because the tech knows I have horses and I’m at the barn every day. My tetanus shot is at least 15 years old, so she mentioned the free part and I could come in anytime. I’m still chewing on that one, because a tetanus vaccine makes sense in my world.
 
Tony Nathanson said:
Since they're free, I was curious about who pays for the expensive TV ads & the vaccines. And also why they always suggest getting them when customers pick up prescriptions.
Yes, CVS gets paid by health insurance companies or government programs like Medicare when a patient receives a "free" flu shot.
As usual they are not free. They are just paid for by other than you. Nothing is free but the word free entices some people to get the shots.
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It is not just the vaccinations that are pushed on people (especially seniors like us) every year that the medical industry makes money from, but all of the tests that they want us to take.
Like @Beth Gallagher mentioned recently, Medicare wants us to have those annual health visits where they ask us to draw the little clock and remember 5 words, and then pushes things like mammograms, and colonoscopies that we do not really need.
And of course, we have the television telling us to ask our doctors for even more medications that they haven’t thought to prescribe for us yet.

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A friend gets the Cologuard Kit sent to her every few months. She has thrown away three of them this year. Of course, after you send in the.......results, they try to talk you into a colonoscopy, "Just to be sure."
Optometrists & eye doctors offer "Free evaluations for Lasik eye surgery to see if you qualify." At $3,500.00 per eye, everyone qualifies. A few years ago during my eye exam, the eye doctor recommended Lasik Corrective Surgery. She kept saying, "You won't need glasses anymore."
I researched Lasik & found that it's not recommended for anyone with a dry eye problem - which my eye doctor knows I have. And she has tried to sell me surgery for dry eyes, too. I said, "Uh....Eye drops are less risky."
 
Tony Nathanson said:
A friend gets the Cologuard Kit sent to her every few months. She has thrown away three of them this year. Of course, after you send in the.......results, they try to talk you into a colonoscopy, "Just to be sure."
Optometrists & eye doctors offer "Free evaluations for Lasik eye surgery to see if you qualify." At $3,500.00 per eye, everyone qualifies. A few years ago during my eye exam, the eye doctor recommended Lasik Corrective Surgery. She kept saying, "You won't need glasses anymore."
I researched Lasik & found that it's not recommended for anyone with a dry eye problem - which my eye doctor knows I have. And she has tried to sell me surgery for dry eyes, too. I said, "Uh....Eye drops are less risky."
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I get those damn Cologuard kits all the time too! If they want it back, they will have to go to the landfill to get it! They are constantly texting me, or "trying" to call me about getting it turned in because my healthcare provider suggested I do the Cologuard. That is pure 🐂:poop:. My husband only gets the texts or phone calls. He has never gotten a kit. I think somewhere along the line, my insurance company, or someone has sold or stolen my information, or my Dad's health information, because my dad died of colon cancer. I have had 4-5 colonoscopies over the years and they all came back good...no polyps. Yay to that! I probably will not have anymore colonoscopies unless I start to have symptoms of some kind.
 
Yvonne Smith said:
It is not just the vaccinations that are pushed on people (especially seniors like us) every year that the medical industry makes money from, but all of the tests that they want us to take.
Like @Beth Gallagher mentioned recently, Medicare wants us to have those annual health visits where they ask us to draw the little clock and remember 5 words, and then pushes things like mammograms, and colonoscopies that we do not really need.
And of course, we have the television telling us to ask our doctors for even more medications that they haven’t thought to prescribe for us yet.

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You may not need a mammogram. My maternal grandmother had five sister living to adulthood. All six died of breast cancer. She had five daughters and one son living to adulthood. The son is in the very final stages, the last daughter is not far behind. Socialized healthcare does not provide mammograms to those over 60. As I am not in touch with my generation and their offspring I have no info.
 
April Vee said:
Yup its very sad most will fall right into thier hands as they did in 2020..
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Every year: "Get your flu shot early because this year's flu season will be the worst yet. (like all the previous seasons)

I'm waiting for "Covid has mutated and the upcoming mutation is much more serious than the previous one. Many have already died. Luckily we have updated the vaccine and we expect it will save countless lives."
 
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