 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Frank A. Sloan, PhD, Center for Health Policy, Law & Management, Duke University, PO Box 90253, Durham, NC 27708, 919-694-8047, fsloan@hpolicy.duke.edu
Immunization represents one of the singular achievements of public health. But the national immunization system faces challenges that threaten the progress that has been achieved. On the supply side, the continued reliability of the vaccine supply is threatened by the consolidation of the industry, leaving only four companies that produce all of the recommended childhood vaccines. This includes four vaccines that are produced by monopoly producers. Recent shortages in eight of the eleven childhood vaccines creased enormous disruption and threatened the stability of the immunization system. Further, the costs of recommended childhood and adult vaccines have doubled over the past decade with the addition of new, more expensive, vaccines to the universal schedule. On the demand side, the Vaccines for Children program has successfully raised immunization levels. Yet severe disparities in coverage remain, particularly for adults at high risk due to chronic illness or compromised immune systems. The system has been frustrated in its ability to fully realize the national immunization goals set forth in Healthy People 2010. Furthermore, the system of financing and delivering vaccines remains fragmented, leaving millions without coverage, and creating administrative inefficiencies that unduly burden both private and public providers, and resulting in missed opportunities for immunization. The Institute of Medicine is conducting a study on vaccine finance on behalf of the CDC to address these issues. The purpose of the study is to identify financial strategies that will achieve an appropriate balance of roles and responsibilities in the public and private health sectors, integrate federal and state roles in supporting the purchase and administration of recommended vaccines for vulnerable populations, and devise a plan that can assure an adequate supply of current vaccines and provides incentives for the development of new vaccine products. The committee is reviewing factors that influence recent pricing trends in the vaccine industry, identifying current health coverage disparities and levels of need that affect access to vaccines in the child and adult populations, and considering the effects of regulatory and licensing procedures on vaccine pricing and vaccine delivery patterns. This paper will present the findings and recommendations of the IOM committee and address the impact of the committee’s recommendations on vaccine purchasing, innovation, coverage and immunization rates. Included in the discussion will be results of eight research papers on varied topics and a fifty state survey of state health officials that were commissioned by the committee.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Insurance, Infectious Diseases
Related Web page: www4.nationalacademies.org/cp.nsf
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Research was conducted by the Institute of Medicine and sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC policies and programs will be discussed. Vaccine products produced by Wyeth, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, Aventis Pasteur, PowderJect, Ch
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.