Harlem Pharmacy Charged Illegal COVID Vaccine Fees, AG Says

HARLEM, NY — A neighborhood pharmacy has been forced to pay back thousands of dollars after wrongly charging its patients for their COVID-19 vaccines, according to the state attorney general.

Embassy Pharmacy, on Amsterdam Avenue between West 152nd and 153rd streets in the Sugar Hill area, charged about 275 customers a $25 fee to get their COVID-19 vaccinations between January and February 2021, according to Attorney General Letitia James.

The pharmacy was one of two in New York City that went under investigation after New Yorkers reported the fees in March of last year, James said. Providers are not allowed to charge patients for the coronavirus vaccine given a state program that ensures the shot is free for all New Yorkers, regardless of insurance.

In an agreement with the AG's office, Embassy Pharmacy has repaid the $25 fees to all of the roughly 275 people — an amount totaling nearly $7,000.

"Make no mistake: COVID vaccines are free to all who seek them," James said in a news release. "New Yorkers should not be charged fees to receive the vaccines. If they are, my office will work to ensure they are reimbursed for the charges."

Along with Embassy, another pharmacy in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn paid back 175 customers who were charged a similar vaccine fee last year, according to James. Embassy Pharmacy insists that it did not charge any fees after Feb. 16 of last year.

Both pharmacies will also be required to create stronger training programs for staff to prevent the fees from being charged in the future, according to the AG's order.

The agreement was praised by local lawmakers including Assemblymember Al Taylor and City Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who noted that "New Yorkers put a tremendous amount of trust in their local pharmacies to serve them with honesty and compassion."

"Thanks to Attorney General James, 275 of my constituents are getting restitution from Embassy Pharmacy," Abreu said.

An employee who answered the phone at Embassy on Tuesday declined to comment on the repayments, saying, "We already took care of that."

If New Yorkers are aware of providers improperly charging consumers a fee for administration of the COVID-19 vaccine, they should contact the Office of the Attorney General's Health Care Bureau online or call 1-800-428-9071.