NORTH FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — A local couple is warning others after they were charged thousands of dollars for vaccines for which they thought insurance would pay.
We got calls from multiple people who have had this same problem at local Walgreens pharmacies. The clinics inside Walgreens in the Atlanta area are now run by Piedmont Healthcare.
Bill and Bridgit Partalis's family doctor recommended they get the shingles vaccine and told them the easiest way to do it was at a pharmacy walk-in clinic.
So, they went to the Walgreens on Old Alabama Road.
"They never told us we were out of network; we offered up our cards, they said, 'Let it go through the system,'" Bridgit Parnalis told Channel 2 Investigative reporter Justin Gray.
The self-pay price for the shingles vaccine at the clinic is $181 a shot.
Instead, the Partalis family got bills at $608 a shot and were told by Piedmont Healthcare they were out of network.
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"I said, 'We're not going to pay it.' This is ridiculous," Bill Parnalis said.
We reached out to Piedmont, and a spokesman told Gray in a statement, "The prices we charge for these immunizations are in line with what other providers charge… we also would note that we provide aggressive discounts for self-pay customers."
Piedmont says part of the problem is that Medicare does not cover the shingles vaccine. Also, Piedmont is using a more expensive flu vaccine this year than other providers.
But the Parnalis family says that does not explain why they would not be charged the self-pay price.
"Why in the world would it cost $603 when it clearly only costs $180?," Bridgit Parnalis said.
We asked Piedmont why employees are not checking whether people's insurance covers the vaccines in the stores and why if they are not covered, they are still charging them that much higher price.
But Piedmont would not answer those questions.
Cox Media Group
