Background. Health plans, physicians and a consumer advocacy group approached the Hawaii Insurance Commissioner and the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) to request access to lower cost public purchased vaccines.
Objective. Evaluate the effectiveness of Universal Vaccine Purchase (UVP) and the best strategy to fund UVP in Hawaii.
Methods. The literature, unpublished Washington State Immunization Program data and CDC data were reviewed. A series of planning meetings with DOH staff, the State Insurance Division staff, and the Hawaii Coalition for Health were held to develop funding mechanisms for a UVP program in Hawaii.
Results. Both the VFC and UVP programs may encourage immunizations in the medical home. Medicaid reimbursement for vaccine administration increased in at least 43 states after the establishment of the VFC program. With UVP, separate vaccine inventories could be eliminated. A synergistic funding strategy for UVP would be to establish a trust fund for UVP using Hawaii tobacco settlement or other public funds. The health plans would then use the money they saved from not purchasing vaccine to reimburse their primary care providers to counsel teens to not start smoking and to provide smoking cessation programs for their patients who smoke.
Conclusions. Implementing a UVP program in Hawaii is possible. UVP would help control health care costs, improve vaccine management by private health providers, encourage an increase in vaccine administration fees by the state’s health plans and increase physician initiated smoking cessation programs.
Learning Objectives: Describe the advantages and disadvantages of a UVP program and how tobacco settlement funds may be used to support UVP in a synergistic way
Keywords: Immunizations, Tobacco Settlement
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: none
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.