Health Insurers Protecting Members from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and His Rogue Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices
WASHINGTON, D.C. – AHIP, the trade group that represents many health insurance companies, on Tuesday announced that “health plans will continue to cover all [Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices]-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.” The announcement comes in advance of the September 18-19 meeting of the ACIP, which is expected to weaken the childhood vaccination schedule, as ousted CDC Director Susan Monarez told a Senate health committee today. AHIP’s members collectively provide coverage and services to more than 200 million Americans. Dr. Robert Steinbrook, director of Public Citizen’s Health Research Group, issued the following statement:
“By committing to fully cover all immunizations that the ACIP recommended as of September 1, 2025, including updated formulations of the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines, through the end of 2026, health plans have effectively anticipated and bypassed the likely destructive actions of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s hand-picked vaccine advisory panel over the next 16 months. The health plans are doing what federal health agencies should be doing, promoting public health by ‘maintaining and ensuring affordable access to vaccines,’ not continuing to undermine access as Kennedy and an ACIP gone rogue are doing.
“Although it is rare for Public Citizen to praise health insurers, AHIP’s responsible actions offer hope that a sane approach to immunizations may yet prevail.”