NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) -

U.S. Democratic Senator Adam Schiff sent letters to insurers

on Thursday ahead of a key CDC vaccine panel meeting asking the

companies to publicly commit to covering routine vaccines for

illnesses such as measles and COVID-19 no matter the group's

recommendations.

California's Schiff urged health insurers in the letters to

provide coverage for the routine shots with no out-of-pocket

costs to patients, suggesting any changes in recommendations by

the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices lacked

evidence-based reasoning.

Schiff in letters viewed by Reuters and sent to UnitedHealth

Group ( UNH ), CVS Health ( CVS ), Elevance, Cigna ( CI )

and Kaiser, a California-based health plan purchaser,

said changes the committee has made have already left patients

and providers in a state of confusion.

In May, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F.

Kennedy Jr, a vaccine skeptic, announced the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention would no longer recommend the COVID-19

vaccine for healthy pregnant women and children.

The Affordable Care Act requires private insurers to cover

immunizations recommended by the panel. After Kennedy gutted the

panel and replaced it with his handpicked advisers, some states

moved to allow pharmacies to follow the authority of medical

organizations, like the American College of Obstetrics and

Gynecology, when administering vaccines.

For vaccines recommended by the vaccine committee before

the meeting, industry trade organization America's Health

Insurance Plans in a Tuesday statement said health insurers

would continue to provide coverage through the end of this year.

The committee meets on September 18 and 19 and will

review recommendations for COVID-19, Hepatitis B and the

combined measles-mump-rubella-varicella vaccines.

Schiff said the Affordable Care Act statute was written

without the foresight of knowing the committee would have all

its members fired by Kennedy and replaced with those lacking

expertise or who were skeptical or against vaccines.