Consumer and industry groups call on agencies to crack down on user review fraud

/in , , , /by

October 11, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington D.C.— A coalition of consumer advocacy and industry organizations is calling on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to do more to crack down on organized user review fraud. In a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan and Attorney General Merrick Garland, the groups stressed that the trustworthiness of user reviews is a critical factor in consumers’ purchasing decisions and for businesses’ reputations.

While fraudulent reviews are not new, organized rings of review brokers coordinating the placement hundreds or even thousands of fraudulent reviews for products on popular marketplaces and e-commerce websites are a growing problem. These operations sell positive reviews to sellers of substandard products, resulting in consumers purchasing poor quality or even unsafe products and services. Honest sellers, including small businesses, are harmed when they lose sales to dishonest competitors who purchase reviews.

Fraudulent reviews cost consumers an estimated $152 billion globally in 2021, with $28 billion in losses from the U.S. economy alone. Additionally, researchers found that by deceiving buyers into purchasing lower quality and potentially unsafe products, fake reviews lead to $0.12 of consumer welfare lost for every $1 spent online.

Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission brought suit against Roomster, a rental listing platform that allegedly deceived consumers by buying fake reviews and charging for access to fraudulent listings. The FTC’s suit also targeted a review broker who organized the sale of tens of thousands of fake reviews to Roomster. The groups’ letter urged the FTC and DOJ to increase the resources devoted to fighting such scams to hold the purveyors of organized review fraud accountable.

“User reviews are a critical part of the purchasing process for millions of consumers every day,” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League, which organized the coalition. “While the FTC and DOJ have taken some steps to crack down on brokers who profit off of fake reviews, more needs to be done if we are to safeguard the trustworthiness of reviews.”

“Online reviews provide great value to small brands as they are the great equalizer when customers are considering buying new products or patronizing new businesses,” said Rob Retzlaff, Executive Director of the Connected Commerce Council. “Fake reviews undermine trust in the entire e-commerce industry, and the FTC and DOJ should do everything in their power to crack down on those abusing the system.”

“Consumers have come to rely on online reviews to distinguish a valuable product or service from a waste of time and money. If fraudulent reviews become rampant online, they risk ruining a sizable portion of online purchases, “said Ruth Susswein, Consumer Action’s Director of Consumer Protection. “We need to rein in online fake review brokers.”

“It’s crucial that consumers have faith in brands,” said Maura Regan, president of Licensing International. “Counterfeiting and fraudulent reviews go straight to the heart of the global licensing industry because a lack of trust hurts all businesses across every category and on every platform.”

The letter to the FTC and DOJ was signed by the Center for Data Innovation, Chamber of Progress, Consumer Action, Connected Commerce Council, Licensing International, National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients), National Consumers League, National Restaurant Association, TechNet, and Women in Toys, Licensing & Entertainment/W I T Foundation.

To view the full letter, click here.

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

Nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization to present annual awards to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins, and Ward 3 DC Councilmember Mary Cheh on Thursday, 10/6

/in /by

October 6, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Melody Merin, melodym@nclnet.org, (703) 298-2614 or Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C.— The National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, has announced it will honor U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra and former Director of the National Institutes of Health and Acting Science Advisor to the President Dr. Francis Collins with its highest honor, the Trumpeter Award, on Thursday, October 6 in Washington, DC.

In addition to the Trumpeter Award, NCL will honor Ward 3 DC Councilmember Mary Cheh with the 2022 Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award, named for NCL’s first general secretary and one of the most influential figures in 20th Century American history.

MEDIA ADVISORY

What:            National Consumers League’s 2022 Trumpeter Awards

 
When:           Thursday, October 6, 2022

                        7 pm Presentation of Awards

 

Where:         Salamander Washington DC (formerly the Mandarin Oriental)

                        1330 Maryland Ave, NW

                        Washington, DC 20024

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, has been honoring visionaries in consumer and worker protection with its annual Trumpeter Award since 1973. Past honorees include: Senator Ted Kennedy, the award’s inaugural recipient, as well as Labor Secretaries Hilda Solis, Robert Reich, and Alexis Herman, Senators Carl Levin and Paul Wellstone, Delores Huerta of the United Farm Workers, U.S. Representative John Lewis, and other honored consumer and labor leaders.

Last year’s Trumpeter recipients were Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Rohit Chopra, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. April Verrett, President of Service Employees International Union Local 2015 in Los Angeles, was recipient of the Florence Kelley Consumer Leadership Award.

This year’s Trumpeter Awards will feature a reception, dinner, and speaking appearances by NCL leadership and the honorees, as well as:

  • Susan Hogan, NBC4 Consumer Investigative Reporter
  • Washington, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser
  • Frederick Isasi, Executive Director of Families USA
  • Nicolette Louissaint, Senior Vice President, Policy and Strategic Planning, Healthcare Distribution Alliance
  • NCL Board Chair Joan Bray, Former Senator, Missouri General Assembly
  • NCL Board member Jenny Backus, Backus Consulting
  • NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg

To learn more, visit nclnet.org/trumpeter

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

LifeSmarts announces partnership with FICO

/in , , , , , , /by

During Financial Planning Month, LifeSmarts, the National Consumers League’s teen consumer education program, has introduced a new lesson focused on credit scores and establishing credit.

October 3, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C.— The National Consumers League’s (NCL) youth consumer education program, LifeSmarts, kicked off its 29th year in September 2022. Through LifeSmarts, students learn about real-life consumer issues and compete to win prizes and scholarships at the National LifeSmarts Championship in April each year. October is both Financial Planning Month and the month in which LifeSmarts students focus on personal finance. To kick off the month, NCL is proud to announce a new lesson about credit scores and how to establish credit, made possible through support from FICO and the FICO® Score, the credit score used by 90% of top lenders.

Beginning today, the 125,000 students and 3,000 educators from across the country who participate in LifeSmarts will have access to lessons and activities from FICO’s new Score A Better Future (SABF) Fundamentals program, a credit education curriculum developed for high school students. These lessons will provide students with a firm understanding of credit scores and how to establish and maintain good credit histories throughout their lives.

Thanks to the FICO SABF Fundamentals program, LifeSmarts has created a new lesson on credit scores, with questions that will be featured throughout competition, culminating with the National LifeSmarts Championship in April 2023. New lessons and competition questions are being integrated into the 2022-23 program year.

“We are pleased to work with FICO to help our students and educators learn more about credit reporting and credit scores,” said National Program Director Lisa Hertzberg. “LifeSmarts gives students the skills they need to succeed as adults, and we see students applying what they learn immediately at home and in their communities. We are thrilled to offer this focus into a critical aspect of personal finance, and we look forward to rolling out new resources for educators and opportunities for student participants.”

LifeSmarts is active in all states and the District of Columbia, where NCL is headquartered.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to focus on personal finance for consumers at this age when they are beginning to make decisions for themselves and influencing decisions made by their parents,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL. “Too often, traditional high school curriculum fails to teach students vital information to become successful adults, and LifeSmarts helps to close that gap.”

“Financial literacy is vital because it’s the foundation to helping students make smart decisions when they navigate their financial futures,” said Joanne Gaskin, vice president of Scores and Analytics at FICO. “Our team created Score A Better Future Fundamentals program to provide valuable free credit education that readies young adults to confidently take control of their financial health.”

###

About LifeSmarts

The goal of the LifeSmarts program is to create consumer-savvy young people who will be better equipped for adult life in today’s complex, global marketplace. Visit LifeSmarts.org for more information. LifeSmarts: Learn it. Live it.

About the National Consumers League (NCL)

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit https://nclnet.org.

About FICO

FICO is a leading analytics software company, helping businesses in 90+ countries make better decisions that drive higher levels of growth, profitability, and customer satisfaction.

Learn more at http://www.fico.com.

NCL and 36 leading patient organizations urge Congress to protect seniors’ access to critical laboratory tests

/in , , , /by

September 21, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, D.C.— The National Consumers League (NCL) today sent a letter signed by 37 leading advocacy organizations, including groups that represent patients with common and chronic conditions who depend on laboratory testing to diagnose and manage their health, urging Senate and House leaders to protect access to clinical laboratory services by enacting the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Act (SALSA / S. 4449 / H.R. 8188) this year.

“Without urgent congressional action, ongoing Medicare reimbursement cuts could jeopardize access to many clinical laboratory tests used to diagnose, monitor, prevent, and manage diseases for more than 50 million Americans,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director. “It is essential that Congress act this year to permanently fix this problem.”

Highlights from the letter are included below:

  • “Without congressional action, Medicare reimbursement cuts – a fourth round scheduled to begin January 1, 2023 – could jeopardize access to many clinical laboratory tests that are used to diagnose, monitor, prevent, and manage common diseases for more than 50 million seniors.”
  • “Clinical diagnostic tests play a critical role in health care and inform 70 percent of medical decisions. For example, in 2020 more than 17 million hemoglobin A1C tests to assess the risk of developing diabetes, 28 million tests to diagnose and monitor heart disease, and 90,000 tests to diagnose leukemia and hereditary breast and colon cancer were provided to Medicare beneficiaries to support their care.”
  • “Between 2017 and 2022, payment for common tests for diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart disease were cut by 27 percent. The next round of Medicare cuts would slash reimbursement up to another 15 percent for more than 800 laboratory tests, resulting in a staggering 38 percent cut to tests that are widely used to screen and manage many serious diseases. It is essential that Congress protect patients by acting this year to fix the Medicare payment model for clinical diagnostic tests.”
  • “Because of the serious implications for patients who rely on routine as well as advanced diagnostic laboratory services, Congress has acted three times to delay these cuts in recent years, but permanent reform is needed now. Fortunately, the Saving Access to Laboratory Services Actwould update Medicare’s payment system, which would help protect access to clinical laboratory testing, support investment in innovation, and strengthen America’s clinical laboratory infrastructure.”

Groups signing the letter include:

  • A Breath of Hope Lung Foundation
  • Alliance for Aging Research
  • Alpha-1 Foundation
  • American Sexual Health Association
  • AnCan Foundation
  • California Life Sciences
  • California Society of Pathologists
  • Cancer Support Community
  • CancerCare
  • Caregiver Action Network
  • Caregiver Voices United
  • Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation
  • Chronic Disease Coalition
  • Community Liver Alliance
  • Down Syndrome Association Of Orange County
  • FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered
  • Global Liver Institute
  • GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer
  • HealthCare Institute of New Jersey (HINJ)
  • Healthcare Leadership Council
  • Heart Valve Voice US
  • HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute
  • International Foundation for AiArthritis
  • LUNGevity
  • Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc.
  • Lupus Foundation of America
  • Men’s Health Network
  • Minority Health Institute
  • National Consumers League
  • New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies
  • Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance
  • Patient Empowerment Network
  • RetireSafe
  • The Kidney Foundation of Central PA
  • The National Grange
  • Triage Cancer
  • ZERO – The End of Prostate Cancer

 

To view the full letter, click here.

 

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

NCL launches campaign to warn Americans about Chinese government’s collection of U.S. consumers’ genetic data 

/in , , /by

September 7, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Consumers League (NCL) today announced it is launching a national campaign – www.protectmypatientdata.com – to warn Americans of the threat posed by the Chinese government’s collection of U.S. healthcare and genomic information. The campaign will target consumers, healthcare leaders, and lawmakers and will highlight the privacy and national security risks resulting from this bulk collection of data.

According to a February 2021 report from the U.S. National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC), the Chinese government has made the collection of American healthcare information a top strategic priority and has gained access to large datasets in the U.S. and around the world through both illegal and legal means. This includes partnering with prominent research and healthcare entities in the U.S. to provide them with genomic sequencing services, allowing them to gain access to Americans’ health records.

On June 3, 2021 President Biden signed an Executive Order to further “address the threat of Chinese surveillance technology firms that contribute – both inside and outside China – to the surveillance of religious or ethnic minorities or otherwise facilitate repression and serious human rights abuses.”

“Genetic data remains one of the most sensitive and least protected types of personal information and yet the consequences of it falling into the wrong hands are profound,” said Sally Greenberg, executive director of NCL. “Authoritarian governments have already used genomic data to potentially surveil and control their own citizens and to conduct unsanctioned scientific research. That is why NCL is sounding the alarm and urging consumers and healthcare providers to be more diligent than ever when sharing personal healthcare information with third parties, particularly those funded or operated by the Chinese government.”

NCL has a long history of calling for consumer protections in the genetic testing industry. In February 2019, NCL issued a statement calling for investigation of direct-to-consumer genetic testing services like FamilyTreeDNA in the wake of reports that these services were sharing genetic data with law enforcement agencies.

On August 29, 2022, MGI Americas, an affiliate of Chinese genome research giant BGI, re-entered the U.S. next-generation sequencing market, having been previously barred from selling its genome sequencing machines in America. BGI is closely affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and the data it collects has no legal protection against disclosure to the Chinese government.

A recent Reuters investigation found that BGI had scraped the DNA data of pregnant women from its pre-natal test kits and added them to the China National GeneBank, which it manages for the Chinese government. BGI has also been implicated in the repression of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang, for which two of its entities were sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

NCL is urging providers and researchers to be cognizant of the risks of partnering with BGI and other Chinese healthcare companies, whose collection of data could be used to advance the country’s precision medicine industry and for more nefarious purposes, including the potential surveillance, exploitation, and manipulation of American citizens. NCL recently published a Genetic Privacy Bill of Rights and released a Policy Framework detailing steps that Congress, the Biden Administration, and industry can take to protect these consumer rights.

In addition to the education campaign, NCL will also embark on a series of initiatives to protect consumers:

  • Working with Members of Congress to create and implement new protections for genetic data, such as the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Surveillance Act, introduced by Sen. Wyden (D-OR), Sen. Whitehouse (D-RI), Sen. Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Lummis (R-WY), and Sen. Hagerty (R-TN).
  • Engaging with the Biden Administration as they develop a potential Executive Order aimed at increasing protections for sensitive personal information, like genetic data.
  • Participating in the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rulemaking process regarding privacy and data protection, to ensure that genetic data is also protected.
  • Educating health care research institutions and major health care associations about the unique risks posed by a lack of safeguards for genetic testing, and what they can do to increase protections.

 

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

The National Consumers League mourns the death of NCL Awardee, labor champion and writer, Barbara Ehrenreich

/in , , /by

September 6, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Consumers League is mourning the death of one of our Trumpeter Awardees, best-selling author of Nickel and Dimed, and hourly worker champion Barbara Ehrenreich.  Ehrenreich accepted NCL’s Trumpeter Award in 2008, which was presented because of her writing on behalf of the working poor.  In Nickel and Dimed,  Ehrenreich traveled around the country working minimum wage jobs and writing about how very difficult that was to do; she wrote a compelling narrative about impossibility of making ends meet, even as a single woman, living on jobs like restaurant server and hotel maid. She described in graphic detail the daily grind and many demeaning experiences she encountered.

NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg speaks to her immense impact on the labor industry, “Barbara Ehrenreich talked the talk, and walked the walk with her long and admirable history of raising awareness about the plight of working Americans.  Nickel and Dimed showed the world just how difficult it is to live on subsistence wages, find housing, health care, buy food, own a car and then have to go to work. She pulled the veil off of the faulty notion that working people can comfortably live off minimum wage jobs. We owe her a debt of gratitude for putting her life on hold to work these jobs and write about the economic reality for working people.”

NCL was honored to have Ehrenreich at our annual Trumpeter Dinner in 2008, present her with the Trumpeter Award, and we mourn her passing this past Labor Day holiday.

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

Airline hotel and meal voucher commitments are a positive step forward

/in , , /by

September 2, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Consumers League (NCL) welcomes the major U.S. airlines’ commitments to provide meals and hotel rooms for travelers stranded due to delays within air carriers’ control. This announcement comes as consumer and passenger rights organizations have advocated for greater protections for travelers within the aviation industry.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:   

“In July 2021, NCL, alongside a coalition of other consumer and passenger rights groups, met with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. A key ask to him was to publicly and personally make the DOT’s airline consumer protection work a priority. As today’s announcement shows, he is taking our challenge to heart. Absent pressure from the Department of Transportation, driven by an unprecedented wave of consumer complaints, it is hard to imagine that the biggest U.S. airlines would have made a commitment to provide meal and hotel vouchers and reimbursement to stranded consumers. While there is much more work to be done achieving a range of consumer protection reforms in the airline industry, today’s news is a positive step forward.” 

 

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

National Consumers League applauds President Biden’s plan to cancel $10,000 in federal student loan debt to millions of Americans

/in , , , , , , , , /by

August 24, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Consumers League applauds President Biden’s decision to relieve student borrowers of billions of dollars in educational debt and to extend the federal loan repayment moratorium. By cancelling $10,000 in student debt for borrowers earning less than $125,000 and cancelling $20,000 for borrowers who received Pell Grants, this administration is providing direct aid to consumers suffering from the plight of educational debt.

The following statement is attributable to NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg:

“President Biden is providing critical assistance to millions of borrowers across the country. Importantly, this executive order will work to negate the impact of student debt that disproportionately affects women and Black borrowers. As consumers face increased rents, grocery costs, fuel prices, and even student loan interest rates, educational debt cancellation will help provide relief on strained household budgets by reducing—and in many cases eliminating—student debt costs.”

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

National Consumers League weighs in on FDA’s OTC Hearing Aid Rule, encourages consumers to consult with medical professionals

/in , , , , , /by

August 17, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC – Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its final rule enabling access to over-the-counter hearing aids for consumers with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss. National Consumers League (NCL) strongly supports expanding access to and affordability of hearing aids. NCL is encouraged by the positive impact these policy changes will have on increasing access to life-altering hearing aids. “We hope this means that more people will proactively assess their hearing loss and seek the help they need for their hearing health needs” said Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of NCL.

At the same time, while OTC hearing aids are a promising first step in achieving that goal, NCL remains concerned about potential consumer safety issues surrounding the use of OTC hearing aids without consultation of a trained, medical professional. NCL strongly encourages consumers to first consult with a medical professional before treating their perceived hearing loss with a hearing aid, including those that will be sold OTC.

Safety is the cornerstone of NCL’s mission. This is why NCL, along with 90 leading healthcare and consumer organizations, weighed in during the public comment period and via a group letter to FDA urging the agency to adopt lower the maximum outputs for OTC devices and establish a limit on gain. This limit has been recommended by leading hearing health professional organizations to ensure consumer safety. FDA ultimately lowered the maximum outputs in the final rule but decided against establishing a gain limitation. While we are pleased that the FDA recognized the need to lower the maximum outputs, we believe these devices could have been safer by limiting the amount of gain, as recommended by hearing care professionals. The lack of a gain limit, coupled with excessive amplification of sound for prolonged periods of time, may put some consumers at risk of experiencing increased hearing loss.

Because hearing loss is a medical condition that is unique to each individual, it should be addressed in consultation with a hearing care professional. With OTC hearing aids expected to be in stores as early as mid-October, NCL encourages consumers to purchase hearing aids in consultation with a professional who can help them fully understand the nature of their hearing loss, if any exists at all, and ensure that the treatment plan is appropriate for their needs, including the potential use of OTC hearing aids.

If consumers experience any adverse events or complications related to the use of OTC hearing aids, including worsening hearing after using such a device, NCL encourages consumers to report these events to the FDA. Instructions for reporting adverse events, are available at https://www.fda.gov/safety/medwatch, or by calling (800) FDA-1088.

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

The National Consumers League commends the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act in increasing Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to adult vaccines

/in , , , , , /by

August 17, 2022

Media contact: National Consumers League – Katie Brown, katie@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC – The National Consumers League (NCL) is tremendously encouraged by the enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376), which includes important provisions to increase access to adult vaccines. More specifically, the Act will provide all recommended adult vaccines to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries at no cost to patients.

NCL has been a longstanding advocate of expanding vaccine access to consumers, and recognizes the importance of vaccines as a life-saving, preventive public health measure. As a member of the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition (AVAC), NCL supports increasing access to all recommended adult vaccines by eliminating no cost sharing policies, which can place an immense financial burden on patients. As with any other health service, cost burden has kept both Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries from receiving their recommended adult vaccines. Limiting vaccine access is harmful, and keeps adults from protecting themselves and their communities from preventable disease.

The crucial vaccine provisions within the Inflation Reduction Act include language from both the Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act, and the Helping Adults Protect Immunity (HAPI) Act, both spearheaded by AVAC and advocated for by NCL. The Act will provide free recommended adult vaccines for both Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries starting in 2023. It also mandates that under Medicare Part D, there will be no copays or any other out-of-pocket expenses for any adult vaccine that is recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). In addition, Medicaid and CHIP will increase access to adult vaccines by improving federal reimbursement for providers that immunize those patients. Expanding access to vaccines through these mandates will promote vaccine uptake through the removal of cost burden for both Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

The inclusion of these provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act is a critical step towards increasing vaccine access and coverage to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries nationwide. Its enactment will not only promote better health outcomes for consumers, but also represents a significant step towards expanding health equity. NCL appreciates President Biden’s swift action in signing this landmark piece of legislation yesterday.

###

About the National Consumers League (NCL) 

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.