Legislation to expand Medicare benefits

If South Carolina’s Tim Scott and other senators have their way, Medicare beneficiaries will get access to all recommended vaccines at no additional costs.  That would include shingles and tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis.  Currently, under Medicare, immunization coverage varies by vaccine.  Republican Scott, some of his Republican colleagues, and some Democratic senators introduced the Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act of 2021.  According to Scott’s announcement, prior to the pandemic, more than 50 thousand American adults died from preventable disease every year, and the U-S spent more than $15 billion annually treating Medicare beneficiaries alone for vaccine-preventable diseases.