Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel will testify before Senate next month on Covid vaccine price hike

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel volition attest earlier the Senate wellness committee successful March implicit the company's plans to hike the terms of its Covid-19 vaccine.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, seat of the wellness panel, confirmed successful a connection connected Wednesday that Bancel would look astatine a proceeding titled: "Taxpayers Paid Billions For It: So Why Would Moderna Consider Quadrupling the Price of the COVID Vaccine?"

Bancel volition attest astatine 10 a.m. ET connected March 22.

The Moderna CEO told the Wall Street Journal successful January that the institution was considering expanding the terms of its vaccine to betwixt $110 to $130 erstwhile the national authorities stops buying the shots for the nationalist and they're sold connected the backstage market. The U.S. presently pays astir $26 per dose for Moderna's omicron booster, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Sanders, in a missive to Bancel past month, slammed the projected terms hike arsenic "outrageous" fixed that the vaccine was developed successful practice with the National Institutes of Health utilizing payer money.

"I find your determination peculiarly violative fixed the information that the vaccine was jointly developed successful concern with scientists from the National Institutes of Health, a U.S. authorities bureau that is funded by U.S. taxpayers," Sanders wrote to Bancel.

Sanders said raising the vaccine terms would person a antagonistic effect connected the budgets of Medicare and Medicaid and volition summation backstage wellness security premiums, but helium said the uninsured would consciousness the top impact.

"Perhaps astir significantly, the quadrupling of prices volition marque the vaccine unavailable for millions of uninsured and underinsured Americans who volition not beryllium capable to spend it," Sanders said. "How galore of these Americans volition dice from Covid-19 arsenic a effect of constricted entree to these lifesaving vaccines?"

Bancel sold much than $400 cardinal successful institution stock from the commencement of the pandemic done March 2022. The Covid vaccine is presently Moderna's lone commercially disposable product.

The national authorities has guaranteed escaped Covid vaccines for everyone successful the state careless of security presumption since the shots rolled retired successful December 2020. The vaccines volition stay escaped for radical who person Medicare, Medicaid and backstage security nether the Affordable Care Act adjacent aft the national Covid immunization programme ends.

The U.S. inactive has 120 cardinal omicron boosters that haven't been used. The uninsured volition proceed to person entree to these shots for free, but it's unclear however agelong the proviso volition last.

When the national proviso runs out, uninsured adults whitethorn person to wage the afloat terms for the shots. The White House has said it is processing plans to help.

There is simply a national escaped vaccine programme for children whose families oregon caretakers can't spend the shots.