Medicare has announced that it will pay healthcare providers the same rate to administer the H1N1 flu vaccine as the seasonal flu vaccine, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The program will pay for both H1N1 and seasonal vaccination and for administering more than one dose of vaccine, if medically necessary for the beneficiary, according to an article in the CMS publication MLN Matters.
Medicare will also pay for seasonal flu vaccinations even if the vaccinations are rendered earlier in the year than normal.
The program will not pay physicians and other providers for the H1N1 vaccine itself, since it will be available to them for free.
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