Vaccination in the United States: payer perspective on the working group and its recommendations

Vaccination in the United States has been and continues to be a great public health success. Many common infectious diseases that were seen during the first half of the 20th century now rarely occur. When isolated outbreaks of mumps or measles occur, these exceptions prompt headlines in national media. Managed-care organizations have long focused on preventive services, and it was through their innovation and expansion after passage of the Health Maintenance Organization Act of 1973 that coverage for many preventive services became a more-integrated part of individuals' health insurance. Additional focus on health plan programs to enhance immunization rates occurred in November 1993, with the inclusion of pediatric immunization rates in the National Committee for Quality Assurance Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set measures,1 which now are used to evaluate the performance of health care organizations and health care providers with respect to important … Address correspondence to Alan B. Rosenberg, MD, WellPoint, Medical Policy, Technology Assessment, and Credentialing Programs, 120 Monument Circle, Indianapolis, IN 46204. E-mail: alan.rosenberg{at}wellpoint.com