Wake woman suffers reaction to COVID vaccine, gets second jolt from surprise hospital bill

A Wake Forest woman who suffered an adverse reaction to a coronavirus vaccination was on the hook for thousands of dollars in medical expenses - until WRAL News started asking questions about her bills.

Posted 10:34 p.m. Jun 28, 2021 — Updated 10:56 p.m. Jun 28, 2021

Joe Fisher

, WRAL reporter

RALEIGH, N.C. — A Wake Forest woman who suffered an adverse reaction to a coronavirus vaccination was on the hook for thousands of dollars in medical expenses – until WRAL News started asking questions about her bills.

Lori Marks received the Johnson & Johnson one-dose vaccine at the drive-thru mass vaccination clinic outside PNC Arena in April. Minutes later, she said recently, she felt light-headed, and her blood pressure started falling.

“I remember sitting in the car. I was passing out, and I was starting to vomit," she said.

Eighteen people at the drive-thru clinic suffered adverse reactions within two hours, and Marks and three others went to local hospitals for treatment. The reactions forced Wake County to pause its use of the Johnson & Johnson shot for three weeks.

Marks was taken by ambulance to WakeMed North – and, much to her surprise, she later received medical bills totaling $3,000.

“I feel like Wake County has some responsibility," she said. "It happened on the same day that they halted the vaccine, and they didn’t reinstate it for several weeks after that.”

But she didn't get any support when she called WakeMed or Wake County.

“They basically said, 'It is what it is. You are going to be liable for the bills,'” she said. “Everybody is just saying, 'You are responsible for paying it.'”

Hospitals nationwide have received funding from the CARES Act to waive all hospital bills for coronavirus-related illnesses. But that funding doesn't extend to illnesses stemming from the vaccines.

Days after WRAL questioned WakeMed about Marks’ case, however, the hospital system and Wake Emergency Physicians waived more than $2,600 in her out-of-pocket expenses.

“Ms. Marks did the right thing – she got a COVID vaccination," WakeMed spokeswoman Kristin Kelly said in a statement. "While WakeMed cannot control how a patient’s insurer handles charges, work has been underway by WakeMed to make it standard policy to waive patient responsibility for any and all COVID-related testing and treatment, including vaccine-related care.”

But WakeMed added that it will cover vaccine-related care only for those patients, like Marks, who suffer an immediate reaction after a shot.

She is the only patient covered under that policy so far.

Marks also remains liable for the $374 Wake EMS bill for her ambulance ride to the hospital.

“I was advised and encouraged by EMS to go to the hospital because of their lack of knowledge of the reactions," she said.

“Our vaccine clinic staff make decisions out of an abundance of caution and an attempt to provide and promote safety," Wake County spokeswoman Stacy Beard said in a statement.

County officials directed Marks to the federal Countermeasures Injury Compensation Program, which was set up to help offset medical costs people incur from a vaccination, medication, device or other item recommended to diagnose, prevent or treat a declared pandemic, epidemic or security threat, including COVID-19.

The CICP said it’s received 349 claims alleging coronavirus vaccine-related injuries. Marks' claim is among many that are still under review.

Marks said she plans to keep fighting the ambulance bill, but she is relieved her costs have come down.

“I am ecstatic. I am so happy that WRAL intervened on my behalf, reached out and was able to assist me with this," she said. "I was very, very happy about that because I was getting nothing but pushback prior to your help."

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