Washington Universal Vaccine Purchasing

After the passage of Washington State’s 2009-2011 biennial budget, the Childhood Vaccine Program was shifted from a universal program to one where children with private insurance will no longer be offered free vaccines.

On June 3rd, Representative Eileen Cody, who is the Chair of the House committee on Health Care & Wellness, said, "The bad thing we did was cut universal funding of [children’s] immunizations."

As of July 1st, 2009, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine will no longer be available to children. Even adolescent girls who are in the middle of the series will only be able to finish the series if their provider pays for it.
Further, no vaccines will be purchased by the state and given to children with private insurance.

As of May 1, 2010, all children with private insurance will be ineligible for state-funded vaccines.

Traditionally, insurance companies do not cover children’s vaccinations because the State has provided them, free of charge, to local physicians. Thus, vaccines are not included in standard healthcare coverage plans. The State purchases vaccinations for a reduced, bulk cost of just a few cents per vaccination. By eliminating the Universal Vaccine Program, Washington State physicians will be faced with the decision of providing vaccinations without compensation or to cease supplying vaccinations all together.

Vaccine-preventable diseases have reached record lows over the past several years. This is because of the great strides we, as a State, have taken to ensure that each child is guaranteed immunizations. Without those vaccines, long-term costs associated with vaccine-preventable diseases will skyrocket.

The more children who are not vaccinated, the more likely we are to see outbreaks of preventable diseases in our neighborhoods. Eliminating vaccination funding is more than an individual concern; it is a serious community health risk. Without these vaccinations, children will be left vulnerable to diseases like Whooping Cough, Polio, Meningitis, Diphtheria, and Chicken Pox.

From a near-term financial perspective, physicians are already being burdened with reduced reimbursement rates for state funded or subsidized health plans, making it more difficult to maintain independent practices and care for their most at-risk patients.