President Biden and Democrats in Congress Expanded Access to Free Vaccines to Adults on Medicaid and Seniors
This World Immunization Week, Protect Our Care is celebrating the historic expansion of recommended vaccines. Free access to vaccines has expanded substantially under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and Inflation Reduction Act. Under the ACA, nearly half of Americans – over 150 million people – have insurance plans that are required to cover over two dozen vaccines recommended by health experts at the CDC without any out-of-pocket costs. Thanks to President Biden and Democrats in Congress, people on Medicare and adults on Medicaid have free access to even more vaccines, including the shingles vaccine, under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Americans from all backgrounds are benefiting from access to free vaccines. All of these provisions help seniors as well as people of color, rural populations, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQI+ community who have faced greater levels of poverty and worse health outcomes due to racism, discrimination, and other systemic barriers.
While President Biden and Democrats in Congress are hard at work bringing down the cost of health care, MAGA Republicans continue to escalate their war on health care. The latest GOP plan repeals the Inflation Reduction Act, including free vaccine coverage, and jeopardizes Medicaid coverage for millions by radically restructuring the program and imposing new requirements designed to throw people off their coverage. Extremists are also in the courts trying to rip away a key portion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that requires insurers to cover lifesaving preventive services for free, including vaccines. They are working to rip away protections, raise health care costs, and throw the health care system into chaos.
If Republicans Got Their Way:
- GONE: Free immunizations for more than 151 million people with private insurance, for over two dozen recommended vaccines guaranteed under the Affordable Care Act.
- GONE: Free immunizations for 52.4 million Medicare beneficiaries, for over two dozen recommended vaccines guaranteed by the Inflation Reduction Act.
- GONE: Free immunizations for approximately 47 million adults on Medicaid for over two dozen recommended vaccines.
The Affordable Care Act Guarantees Free Vaccines For Nearly 1 In 2 Americans. The ACA guarantees that private insurers cover over two dozen vaccinations free of charge. HHS has estimated that, as of 2020, around 151.6 million people were enrolled in plans required to cover these preventive immunizations without co-pays. The ACA also extended free vaccines to the Medicaid expansion population, about 24 million people as of 2024. The full list of free vaccines covered by the ACA includes:
- Anthrax
- Cholera
- Chickenpox (Varicella)
- COVID-19
- Dengue Fever
- Diphtheria
- Ebola
- Encephalitis (Japanese and Tick-Borne)
- Flu (influenza)
- Haemophilus Influenzae (Hib)
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
- Measles
- Meningococcal
- Mpox (Orthopoxvirus)
- Mumps
- Polio
- Pneumococcal
- Rabies
- Rotavirus
- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)
- Rubella
- Shingles (Zoster)
- Smallpox (Orthopoxvirus)
- Tetanus
- Typhoid Fever
- Whooping Cough (Pertussis)
- Yellow Fever
The Inflation Reduction Act Guarantees Even More Free Vaccines For Over 50 Million Seniors. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, 52.4 million Medicare beneficiaries are eligible to receive the 27 different vaccinations recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for free, including the often expensive shingles vaccine. In 2021, 3.4 million Medicare received a covered vaccine, 82 percent of whom were immunized with the two-part shingles vaccination. With a single shot of Shingrix costing more than $180, seniors on Medicare Part D saved over $400 on average on vaccinations in 2023. The high out-of-pocket cost of the shingles vaccine has been a key factor in low vaccination rates, especially among Black and Latino communities. This extends an important affordable preventive service to seniors on Medicare; Americans with private insurance can typically receive shingles vaccinations at no cost.
The Inflation Reduction Act Requires Medicaid To Cover Free Vaccines For All Adults on Medicaid. The Inflation Reduction Act also requires state Medicaid programs to cover the 27 vaccinations recommended by the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for free, without any out-of-pocket costs. About 47 million adults have coverage through Medicaid. More accessible vaccinations will particularly help low-income families who rely on Medicaid, many of whom are people of color and people with disabilities.