Legislation
Immunization Initiative
What's New
- Call For Action
- Upcoming Immunization Initiative meeting
- 2008 Annual Survey of Massachusetts Health Plans on their Immunization Benefit Policies and Reimbursements for Vaccines
- The 2010 Childhood & Adolescent Immunization Schedules
- Influenza
- Archived Presentations from the Annual MIAP Conference October 5, 2009
- MCAAP Position Paper on Universal Vaccination for Children in Massachusetts
- Pediatric Immunization Codes
- Implementing the New Vaccine Administration Codes by Massachusetts Health Care Organizations
The Immunization Trust Bill, Senate 2195 that the MCAAP and the Mass DPH have been working on for the past year and a half is now in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. It has good support, but needs to be moved out of committee in order to be taken up by the whole legislature and passed this session. (Please download and read the Vaccine Trust Bill S.2195 - MCAAP summary of the proposed legislation)
The members of the Senate Committee: http://www.mass.gov/legis/comm/s30.htm need to hear from their constituents, and, more importantly, they need to hear from their colleagues in the legislature, that this is a bill of special importance.
We ask that all members of the MCAAP, friends, and allies personally contact their local senators (and representatives) to ask them to speak to their colleagues, the members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, and urge them to move S.2195 favorably out of Committee as soon as possible. It would be additionally helpful to speak directly to the Members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee with this same message.
- To download the text of the Bill go to: www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st02pdf/st02195.pdf
- Read the MCAAP summery of S2195 MCAAP Vaccine Trust Fund Bill Summary
- To look up the name legislators representatives and Senators by the town they represent Go To: www.mass.gov/legis/city_town.htm
Upcoming Immunization Initiative Advisory Committee Meetings
The next meeting Date: TBD
All Immunization Initiative meetings are held at the Massachusetts Medical Society:
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Waltham Woods Corporate Center
860 Winter Street
Waltham, MA 02454
If you wish to join the Advisory Committee contact Hadassa Kubat by phone: (781) 895-9850, or e-mail: hkubat@mms.org
The 15th Annual Massachusetts Immunization Action Partnership Pediatric Immunization Skills Building Conference, will be held on October 7, 2010 at The Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel in Marlborough
The 2008 Annual Survey of Massachusetts Health Plans on their Immunization Benefit Policies and Reimbursements for Vaccines
Each year the Immunization Initiative conducts a survey of Massachusetts Health Plans about their reimbursement policies for privately purchased vaccines which are not provided by the MDPH. This year's survey included the following questions:
- Does your plan reimburse Providers for all the ACIP recommended vaccine products when these are not supplied by MDPH? Please list all the sections of your plan for which your response does not apply.
- Does your plan reimburse providers for the actual acquisition cost of vaccines?
- Does your plan reimburse for more or less than the private sector published vaccine products prices?
(http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/programs/vfc/cdc-vac-price-list.htm) - What is the billing procedure for vaccine products?
- Does your health plan pay for the administration of vaccines? (CPT codes 90465-68 and 90471-73)
- Are immunizations, vaccine products and/or administration included in the deductibles? Please list the sections of your plan for which your response applies.
- Does the information provided in your responses apply to the subsidized Commonwealth Care Connector plans?
The responses were tabulated in two files, which are available by clicking on:
Massachusetts Health Plans' Immunization Reimbursement Policies - Summary of Responses 2008
and on
Massachusetts Health Plans' Reimbursement for Vaccines - Summary of Responses January 2008
Posted on February 25 2008
Multiple Vaccines VIS
A multi-vaccine VIS has been added to the NCIRD website, and may be downloaded now at:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-multi.pdf
This VIS may be used as an optional substitute for any or all of the routine birth-6 month vaccine VISs. (DTaP, IPV, Hib, PCV, Hepatitis B, and Rotavirus) See VIS News. It is an optional alternative to the individual VISs, which, of course, may still be used.
Posted on February 1, 2008
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Influenza Vaccine
Links to Influenza Vaccination Recommendations
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, Flu Web Site
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
Influenza Web Site, MDPH
http://www.state.ma.us/dph/cdc/epii/flu/flu1.htm
Model Standing Orders - Influenza Vaccine, MDPH
Inactivated: http://www.mass.gov/dph/cdc/mso/inactivated_flu.pdf
Live Attenuated: http://www.mass.gov/dph/cdc/mso/laiv_flumist.pdf
Influenza vaccine available for (private) purchase
A website sponsored by the National Influenza Vaccine Summit and hosted by the American Medical Association (AMA) lists vaccine distributors, their contact information and the type of influenza vaccine they have available. http://www.preventinfluenza.org/ivats/ivats_09_10.pdf
Archived Presentations from:
The Thirteenth Annual Massachusetts Immunization Action Partnership Skills Building Conference, October 2, 2008
Slides available as downloadable Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) files
To download click on the presentation's title
Immunizations in Massachusetts
- Susan M. Lett, MD, MPH
Vaccine Safety
- Ronald Adler, MD
What's New? National Immunization Update
- William L. Atkinson, MD, MPH
Vaccine Preventable Disease Epidemiology
- Noelle Cocoros, MPH
Flu Recommendations
- Mary Conant RN, BSN
How to Vaccinate all These Kids (Flu Recommendations)
- Harriet Sanclamente, NP
Tips for Immunizing Children: LOTS of Children (Flu Recommendations)
- Barbara Westley, RN
National Vaccine Distribution: Lessons Learned and a Look towards Flu Season
- Robert W. Morrison
Vaccines for International Travel
- Lawrence Madoff, MD
MCAAP Position Paper on Universal Vaccination for Children in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote a policy paper urging the Commonwealth legislature to support the funding of all ACIP & AAP recommended vaccines, and to maintain universal immunization for all children in our state. Please print this document and share it widely with your colleagues, parents and all who care about health of children. Click on the title: MCAAP Position Paper on Universal Vaccination for Children in Massachusetts and open a printer friendly PDF file.
2010 Childhood & Adolescent Immunization Schedules in various formats including downloadable immunization schedules into handhelds are posted on the NIP Web site:
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/recs/schedules/child-schedule.htm
Pediatric Immunization Administration CPT Codes
Implementing the New Vaccine Administration Codes by Massachusetts’ Health Care Organizations
Most but not all plans incorporated the new codes into their billing systems, and are reimbursing on these codes.
Click here to view detailed information and the responses of each of the surveyed plans.