Hacker News Reader

Comment by spencerflem | Hacker News Reader

I’d like to take my flu vaccine this year but in the US it’s $300 without insurance

You should check around, bunch of groups / counties provide them for free or low cost. Also Costco was at least a few years ago dirt cheap without a prescription.

Good to know, I’ll check Costco, this was at a CVS. My current plan was to see if I could get it while in Canada

I'm an EMT w/ a fire dept, we run a local flu shot drive for our community for free. Check for other resources like this for example in your community, or perhaps at the county level.

If that doesn’t work, a lot of county health departments have free clinics for people without insurance.

For some reason CVS refuses to take my UnitedHealth insurance for flu (but will no problem for covid). They said it would have been 200 bucks and I laughed at them and went to Costco.

Would be hard to get in Canada without provincial health cards, if I had to guess.

turns out you were right!

I'm not sure where you got a quote from, but CVS is advertising on their website without insurance that it costs far less.

https://www.cvs.com/immunizations/flu?icid=immunizations-lp-...

Under the "How much does a flu shot cost?" section it says $75 for a standard dose.

That seems extremely high. You can pop into any Walmart in Minnesota and get it for about $45 uninsured. At Hy-Vee (the grocery store chain), I want to say it's $25.

Where are you?

Publix supermarkets will literally pay you to get it. I think it's a $10 gift card this year.

With insurance :c

This was my local CVS though, from other comments maybe other places are cheaper.

Also I miss pubsubs so much <333

Any grocery or drug store will give you a flu vaccine for free to you. It's not $300.

I think you're seeing how the ACA mandated free vaccines, so the $300 gets billed to your health insurance, then your insurance negotiates it down to $30. If you don't have insurance, it's the sticker price.

No, this is a loss leader / community benefit these corporations participate in. They'll attempt to be reimbursed through insurance, but also offer it to the uninsured.

It's not a loss leader, it's literally revenue positive to pay for everyone to get a vaccine from the insurance company's perspective!

One guy needing intensive care pays for a whole bunch of vaccines.

For the insured, sure. For the uninsured, I think it's done as a loss leader / community benefit by the store/pharmacy.

https://www.cvs.com/learn/health/vaccines-immunizations

> *FOR FREE FLU SHOTS & 14 NO-COST VACCINES: Select vaccines at no cost with most insurance. Eligibility varies by patient and insurance plan. Eligible patients will not pay any copayments unless otherwise required by their plan, including Medicare Part B. Availability varies by state based on regulations...

That doesn't sound like it's free if you're uninsured. Or at least that don't advertise that.

> If you don't have insurance, it's the sticker

it's never the sticker for cash, if you pay cash you will get the same rate the insurance companies get. Why would a clinic turn down the sale? Just shop around and say you'll be paying cash.

In Mexico, we get it for free

It’s also free in Canada. And yet…

only the flu tho. COVID costs $100 in Alberta

I meant measles.

Seriously? I just had mine for £23 at the pharmacist in the UK. I just walked in and they did it.

Ok tbf it was the combined flu/covid, if I wanted just flu that would be ‘only’ 150

Wow, that sucks. Why so expensive? COVID is more in the UK, like ~£80.

Haha no clue, I was shocked as well. First time being uninsured. According to other commenters maybe there’s other stores that offer it for less.

Funny thing is, same day I didn’t get the vaccine the grocery store receipt starting offering a free shot and $10 store credit with “most insurances” so I didn’t qualify lol.

This sorta thing that keeps Everyone safe with herd immunity you’d really think they’d want to make as easy as possible

So actually had to double check this but in Brazil you can get the flu/covid vaccine for free at public hospitals or, which shocked me, at for-profit drugstores (for sure subsidized by the government).

In British Columbia my local health authority texts me to inform me my covid and flu vaccines are available. And both are free. Of course it is cost effective for the province as it is cheaper to give vaccines than treat sick people in hospital.

I still can't believe that Alberta is charging for COVID vaccines purely for political reasons.

I can believe it, if only based on the times I've heard Danielle Smith speak.

California imposes a penalty of $900 for not having health insurance, and approximately every health insurance plan you can get covers the flu vaccine at no cost to the patient. 8% of Americans have no health insurance like GP, with states not imposing a mandate having higher uninsured rates.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com