Since When Does Getting a Pnemonia Vaccine Cost $4,400? Unexpected Charges Leave Lindsey with Questions After Her Hospital Stay

Lindsey Messinger, Colorado

When Lindsey Messinger had to spend the night in Poudre Valley Hospital earlier this year, the last thing she was worried about was the cost — until she saw that cost.

One line item in particular stood out: the UCHealth charge for a pneumonia vaccine a nurse had recommended.

“I thought maybe someone entered that in wrong,” Messinger said. “Maybe there’s an extra digit that there shouldn’t be. Between the vaccine and the administration cost, it was $4,400.”

Messinger’s records show her insurance would cover some of that cost, but not all. She would be responsible for about $700.

“I can see paying more for something at a hospital — maybe double, triple, quadruple, maybe. But this was 14 times what I would have paid getting this vaccine at my pharmacy.”

View the full story at ABC Denver 7 here.