A federal committee is reviewing vaccine schedules for infants and children, specifically today looking at the Hepatitis B vaccine for infants.
As federal policy around vaccine suggestions are up in the air, some states are bolstering their own public health policies.
Insurance companies are mandated to cover certain vaccines, based on federal recommendations. With these recommendations changing, some vaccines might be harder for medical professionals to offer– or, people might have to pay out of pocket for their shots.
This is where state authority comes into play.
In Pennsylvania, there are two bills dealing directly with vaccine coverage right now.
House Bill 1881 lets pharmacists rely on the Pennsylvania department of health to approve which vaccines they can administer.
House Bill 1828 mandates private insurance companies to pay for vaccines recommended by national medical associations, as opposed to the federal government.
Both bills are sponsored by state representative Arvind Venkat, who is also an emergency room doctor from Pittsburgh.
“Insurance companies especially are going to be between a rock and a hard place,” Venkat said during a press luncheon last week. “Their only legislative mandate, absent state action, is from the affordable care act. Which is now going to be informed by a committee at the federal level which has no basis in scientific evidence.”
Right now, the pharmacist bill is in a House committee, as this issue was addressed by the state board of pharmacy already. The private insurance bill passed the House with 104 to 99 votes. It is now sitting in a state senate committee.