The AAP's report refers to the "immunization financing" problems in the U.S. as "timely access" and "more appropriate payments" for providers is necessary.
Although vaccines and vaccinations have nearly eliminated or greatly reduced threats to the health of the public, the current trend of our nation's vaccination access and delivery systems is being stressed in both the private and public sectors.
The groundbreaking meeting of more than 120 diverse participants from medical and public health societies, government agencies, insurers and drug manufacturers met in Chicago, IL, for the AAP-American Medical Association (AMA) Immunization Congress. The meeting was held the weekend of Februay 27 through March 1 to discuss ways to reform what they called a system "crisis" in the U.S.
This rare occasion brought all the concerning parties together to identify, discuss and prioritize the problems and to develop solutions for obtaining and providing the necessary immunization delivery systems throughout the U.S. for all vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
The current financing and delivery systems are discouraging as they challenge the abilities of immunization providers. For example, inadequate reimbursements are being provided by insurers for vaccine-related costs, and lag time exists between recommended vaccinations and insurance coverage.
"The system is broken, and we're in real trouble," stated Michael Severson, MD, FAAP, who is the chair of the AAP's District IV.
According to Walt A. Orenstein, MD, FAAP, who is the associate director of the Emory Vaccine Center and director of the Emory Program for Vaccine Policy and Development, "This crisis is not readily visible. There is no resurgence of vaccine-preventable diseases due to failure to vaccinate. Our goal is to prevent tragedies, not deal with them later."
Although the vaccines that have been developed and the vaccinations that continue to occur have been some of the most successful events in public health history, the current system is being threatened.
Discussions at the meeting indicated that private providers are at risk of eliminating their ability to provide vaccine delivery due to costs, and the public sector is being greatly strained by the burdens of providing access to all as well.
The chair of the AAP Task Force on Immunization, Jon R. Almquist, MD, FAAP, stated, "We've identified strategies that will bring benefits to pediatricians in a reasonably short time."
The meeting brought forth three main, proposed solutions to fix the nation's broken vaccination system:
1. Obtain specific data collection to be able to fix the fees related to vaccine administration.
2. Obtain cooperation with vaccine manufacturers to allow providers to gain initial inventories of new vaccines with reasonable terms for pricing.
3. Provide better ways to allow federally qualified health centers authorization of public health clinics to serve underinsured children with necessary vaccinations.
Both the participants and the organizers of the meeting were excited and encouraged by the outcomes of the meeting, according to the AAP news story.
"Vaccines are among the most cost-effective and life-saving interventions of modern medicine, saving the country approximately $10 billion in direct costs and $43 billion in societal cost annually. For each birth cohort of children immunized, 14 million cases of vaccine-preventable diseases are prevented, and 33,000 vaccine-preventable disease-related deaths are averted," according to the document prepared by the AAP Task Force on Immunization.
