The nation’s biggest health insurance companies will continue to cover vaccinations – including those against Covid-19 and seasonal flu – previously recommended by a federal advisory committee, America’s Health Insurance Plans said Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2025. In this photo is a free flu and Covid-19 vaccine shots available sign, CVS, Queens, New York. (Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
The nation’s biggest health insurance companies will continue to cover vaccinations – including those against Covid-19 and seasonal flu – previously recommended by a federal advisory committee.
The announcement by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), which includes CVS Health’s Aetna, Humana, Cigna, Centene and an array of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans as members, comes ahead of the first meeting of the reconstituted Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which now has new members chosen by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine critic.
“Health plans are committed to maintaining and ensuring affordable access to vaccines,” AHIP said in a statement Wednesday. “Health plan coverage decisions for immunizations are grounded in each plan’s ongoing, rigorous review of scientific and clinical evidence, and continual evaluation of multiple sources of data.”
The move by AHIP is good news for millions of Americans at a time of year when they flock to drugstores, pharmacies, physician’s offices and outpatient clinics to get their seasonal flu and Covid shots. Kennedy’s changes to U.S. vaccine policy have created confusion across the country over whether certain vaccines long covered by insurance would continue to be.
AHIP has now provided some clarity for millions of Americans.
“Health plans will continue to cover all ACIP-recommended immunizations that were recommended as of September 1, 2025, including updated formulations of the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, with no cost-sharing for patients through the end of 2026,” AHIP said. “While health plans continue to operate in an environment shaped by federal and state laws, as well as program and customer requirements, the evidence-based approach to coverage of immunizations will remain consistent.”
AHIP’s announcement comes just days before the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) is scheduled to discuss and eligibility requirements for certain vaccines including new COVID booster shots.
Earlier this year, Kennedy fired all 17 ACIP members, drawing an outcry from the nation’s largest physician groups including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2025/09/17/health-insurers-to-cover-covid-vaccines-despite-rfk-jr-moves/
