Questions about Covid vaccine registration

[DoraBora]

I'm filling out a form ahead of my appointment (at an independent pharmacy) and it's asking for my mother's maiden name and health insurance info.

The fine print at the bottom of the form says I must give them my driver's license number/state of issuance OR my social security number in order to have the vaccine's cost covered by the US government, and I'm giving them my DL info.  Why do they need my health insurance info as well?

Also, why do they need my mom's maiden name?

Has anyone else seen this?

[mommyoffive]

Mine was through the county health dept and didn't ask for any of that information.  

[Storygirl]

I had my shot at a local grocery chain, and my kids had theirs at Walmart. We had to provide photo ID and health insurance card. No one asked for mother's maiden name. I would skip the maiden name and SS questions and just provide the driver's license and health insurance card, in your situation.

Sometimes forms do ask for more information than they need. I was just at the dermatologist, and they asked for SS number on their form. I just left it blank, and they didn't call me back to the desk to fix it.

Edited April 9, 2021 by Storygirl

[Innisfree]

I think they prefer to bill your health insurance, if you have any. They asked for our insurance cards, but I think we also gave driver's license numbers. 

The "mother's maiden name" requirement is weird. It wasn't for a security question, was it?

[DoraBora]

10 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

I think they prefer to bill your health insurance, if you have any. They asked for our insurance cards, but I think we also gave driver's license numbers. 

The "mother's maiden name" requirement is weird. It wasn't for a security question, was it?

I hadn't realized they could bill my insurance (though I just looked it up and found out they can).  I thought everyone was covered by tax dollars on this one.

This is just a paper form.  I'm (thankfully) not setting up an account so I don't see how her name would be a security question.  They're also asking for my primary doctor's info.

I will leave the SS#, mom's name, and doctor's info blank, and fill in the insurance info.

Thank you all!

[Spryte]

Our family has had two types of appointments, each different.  The national pharmacy chain wanted insurance info for billing, and other info (I don’t recall mother’s maiden name, that seems invasive!). County health didn’t ask for more than a driver’s license.

[Pam in CT]

My husband and I got ours through CVS; my eldest through Walgreens; and my middle through Rite Aid; none asked for mother's name.

All asked for insurance if you have it.  Under the federal pharmacy program, the full costs of vaccination (including personnel costs) are being shared across the public and private sectors.  If you have insurance, insurance will cover it (no OOP to you).  The pharmacy gets reimbursed for the cost of the vaccine itself, but covers most of the cost of the staff.  If you don't have insurance, the vaccine is still free to you.

[WildflowerMom]

I had mine at a mass drive-up site and they didn’t ask for insurance.   

[DoraBora]

43 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

My husband and I got ours through CVS; my eldest through Walgreens; and my middle through Rite Aid; none asked for mother's name.

All asked for insurance if you have it.  Under the federal pharmacy program, the full costs of vaccination (including personnel costs) are being shared across the public and private sectors.  If you have insurance, insurance will cover it (no OOP to you).  The pharmacy gets reimbursed for the cost of the vaccine itself, but covers most of the cost of the staff.  If you don't have insurance, the vaccine is still free to you.

That is interesting, and I'm glad that the private sector is sharing the cost.  Thank you.

[RootAnn]

I had mine through the county - no insurance needed. My dd#2 is signed up through the retail program (pharmacy) & the cost to administer the shot (so, someone's wages) will be billed to our insurance.

[Penelope]

I went to the health department. The form asked for SS, insurance, maiden name if any (not my mother’s though). 
I gave insurance info but they never asked for the card or the info of the insured (my spouse in this case), which I’m pretty sure they would need for billing. 

[Selkie]

We got ours at Walmart and needed a photo ID and health insurance card. There was a form to fill out that asked for name, address, phone number, primary care physician, and a series of health history questions. No questions about ssn, maiden names, or driver’s license numbers.

[DoraBora]

As I think about this, I'm so glad they will bill my insurance company.  I'd even be happy to pay out of pocket, though we already pay insurance premiums, so it's good (and in their interest, I guess) that they'll cover the vaccine.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I got my vaccine at my doctor's office.  They have (and double checked) my insurance information.  I do not give out my SSN to anyone other than banks so they don't have that. 

[Sherry in OH]

I had mine done at a drive-through-clinic. The online registration form asked for basic contact information, my vaccine eligibility category, and a series of health questions.   I was instructed to bring a printout of the form, my driver's license, and insurance card to my appointment.  At my first appointment, staff checked my driver's license against appointment schedule and collected the form, but said they did not need the insurance card.    Second appointment they wanted the vaccine card so they could update it and driver's license for ID purposes.

I am mildly amused at my vaccine card. It seems the city administered the first dose and the fire department the second.  

Dh went to his usual pharmacy. He had to show ID, answer a series of questions, and verify that there were no changes to the insurance information already on file.

[Annie G]

Ours was booked through the Georgia Department of Public Health - via a live phone call. They asked mother’s maiden name for both me and dh. They told us to bring ID and insurance card (if we had insurance) to the appointment but nobody asked to see either, so our insurance wasn’t billed. They did not ask for social security number.

[Loowit]

DD, DH, and I got ours at Walmart.  We needed to bring in DL or other photo ID and insurance card if we had one.  They did not ask about mother's maiden name, however, it is a question that I was asked recently at the doctor's office, which I found odd.  I did have to fill out a form about how I was feeling that day and if I had any allergies or reactions to previous vaccines.  I also had to fill out a form for why I was eligible for the vaccine.

[MercyA]

We registered through our state's website, and they did want insurance info so they could bill them if possible.

[HeartString]

The one that I did had a spot for insurance but then it just slipped over it all after I put private. It looked like the forms were programmed with the options for that but it wasn’t required.  The day of I didn’t show any ID or anything.  

[Jaybee]

We all registered through our state's online portal. Name, birthdate, if you have any of a list of health conditions/issues, and insurance info. I think that was all.