OLR Report 2011-R-0439 summarizes information about Connecticut's childhood immunization program.
The Department of Public Health (DPH) operates a federal “Vaccine for Children” (VFC) entitlement program and its own state immunization program funded by an assessment on the state's life and health insurers. The VFC program provides all 16 routine childhood vaccinations recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) free of charge to children who are Medicaid-eligible, uninsured, underinsured, Native Alaskan, or American Indian.
By law, DPH must also administer a state childhood vaccination program that provides certain vaccines, including combination vaccines, at no cost to healthcare providers within available appropriations. Vaccines must be made available to all children who are ineligible for the VFC program regardless of insurance status. Connecticut's program is a “universal-select” vaccine purchase program, meaning that it provides most (11) but not all of the 16 CDC-recommended vaccines to children through age 18. Vaccines not supplied by the program include pneumococcal, rotavirus, influenza, hepatitis A, and human papillomavirus (HPV).
According to DPH, in FY 11 the state program cost $8,829,534. The department estimates that it would cost approximately $24,462,012 to expand to a “universal” vaccine program that provides all 16 CDC-recommended vaccines.
The VFC program pays for vaccine brands recommended by the CDC. From these, DPH chooses the brand for all vaccines provided by both the VFC and state programs, but it is considering transitioning to a “full-choice” VFC program, allowing participating providers to choose the brand. DPH is conducting a feasibility study of such a transition and a vaccine choice pilot program with one VFC provider in Hartford, Charter Oak Health Center, Inc. that began on November 1, 2011. The department must report to the Public Health Committee by June 1, 2012 on the pilot results and any recommendations for future program expansion. If the pilot program does not (1) show a significant reduction in child immunization rates or (2) an increased risk to children's health and safety, it will expand to any VFC provider starting July 1, 2012.
For more detail, read the full report.
