Health Care — Kennedy says vaccines will be covered

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View Online Health Care Health Care PRESENTED BY THE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH The Big Story  Kennedy says vaccines will be covered  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told a group of governors Thursday that even if he initiates the removal of specific vaccines from the list of recommended shots, people will still be able to have them covered by insurance.   © The Associated Press "I'm not trying to take anybody's vaccines," Kennedy told the Western Governors' Association.     "I can tell you that any changes that are made to this schedule will leave the option of people who want to vaccinate, to take whatever vaccines they want and get them paid for by Medicaid and the Vaccines for Children program. What I want is to make sure that vaccines are properly tested so that we know what their risks are and what their benefits."    However, the Vaccines for Children Program is only required to cover shots recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), an independent panel that Kennedy stacked with loyalists.    Kennedy did not mention private insurers. The Affordable Care Act requires all insurance companies to cover, for free, all vaccines ACIP recommends. Those recommendations also help states decide which shots should be mandated for schoolchildren.    It's not clear if ACIP removes a shot that private insurance would still decide to cover it. This year, the country's biggest health insurance association said its member plans will continue to cover all shots that were recommended as of Sept. 1, 2025, and that there would be no cost sharing for patients through the end of 2026.     What happens next year is unclear.     Vaccine prices vary, but without insurance, coronavirus vaccines can cost nearly $150, the MMR shot ranges from $95 to nearly $280 and the HPV vaccine can exceed $300, according to CDC data. Individual pharmacies could charge even more.    ACIP is set to discuss and potentially vote on changing the hepatitis B vaccine schedule for infants when they next meet on Dec. 4.   Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads  How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: RFK Jr. personally requested CDC reverse position on vaccines and autism Changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) webpage on vaccines and autism were made at the direct request of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he told The New York Times in an interview published Friday.  The agency late Wednesday walked back its decades-old insistence that vaccines do not cause autism. The agency now says the claim that vaccines do not cause autism is not "evidence-based" and that …  Full Story GOP-led states challenging FDA approval of generic abortion pill Three Republican-led states have challenged the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of a generic form of the abortion pill mifepristone earlier this year, arguing the agency's decision had ignored the "dangerous effects of mifepristone on pregnant women and girls." The attorney generals for Missouri, Kansas and Idaho earlier this week filed an amended complaint in their ongoing lawsuit against the FDA to restrict …  Full Story Bipartisan House lawmakers float two-year ACA subsidy extension A quartet of bipartisan House members on Friday unveiled legislation to extend ObamaCare’s enhanced subsidies for two years along with some changes to try to assuage conservatives' concerns about fraud.  The bill from Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), and Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) comprises the principles they previously publicly unveiled.   …  Full Story A MESSAGE FROM AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR CANCER RESEARCH   Sustained and Robust Federal Funding Saves Lives AACR Cancer Progress Report 2025 shows federal funding helped prevent 4.75M deaths from major cancers. Cancer Research Saves Lives®. Read the report. In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: GOP barrels toward ObamaCare cliff as prospects dim for subsidy extensions Prospects look dim for Congress to agree to an extension of ObamaCare's enhanced subsidies, as Republicans run headlong toward a December cliff without a clear plan to break their fall.  GOP leaders are trying to coalesce around a unified path on health care, but it's looking increasingly likely the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) enhanced subsidies are not going to be part of it ... Full Story Around the Nation  Local and state headlines on health care: Alabama public education health plan faces $380 million shortfall (WBRC)  Arkansas gets 'F' grade for second year in annual March of Dimes report on maternal & infant health (KARK)  Oregon flags 3 health insurers, a hospital group and a clinic for unexplained surge in costs (Oregon Live)  What We're Reading  Health news we've flagged from other outlets: Federal judges weigh reviving court cases linking Tylenol to autism (ABC News)  Top FDA drug regulator raises alarms about expediting approvals (Washington Post)  Rep. Rob Bresnahan sold stock in several Medicaid providers before voting for cuts ( NBC News)  What People Think  Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: Telemedicine could be taken away from us if Congress doesn't act soon Kennedy's junk science puts Tylenol — and Trump — on Trial   You're all caught up. See you next week!  Check out The Hill's Health Care page for the latest coverage. 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