Some individuals who received a COVID-19 vaccine from Charlotte, N.C.-based Novant Health have been billed erroneously, the health system confirmed to Becker's March 23.
The health system has administered more than 205,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses, and about 1,300 patients across all of its markets have mistakenly received a bill for the vaccine administration fee, a Novant spokesperson said.
Novant bills for a COVID-19 vaccine administration fee, but the bill is supposed to go directly to an insurance provider, as the federal government mandated all insurance plans to cover the fee. The health system also works to get the fee covered for uninsured individuals, so no patient should have to pay for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said the error was caused by a temporary system issue that prompted a bill to be sent while it was pending reimbursement. They also said Novant is doing proactive outreach to help make those who may have received a bill aware that it was a mistake.
"We advise patients who may have received a bill for vaccine administration to please disregard this bill," the spokesperson said. "Impacted patients should receive direct communications, making it clear that payment is not due. If a patient does submit a payment, it will be reimbursed, but our hope is to reach everyone before that point."