New York's Medicaid Program To Reimburse Pharmacies For Vaccinating Medicaid Enrolled Adults

More H1N1 Vaccine Arrives in State; Influenza Activity in New York Now Considered Widespread

October 16, 2009 -- New York Governor David A. Paterson today announced that as of October 15, New York State’s Medicaid program will provide reimbursement to Medicaid enrolled pharmacies for the administration of seasonal and H1N1 influenza vaccines by certified pharmacists to Medicaid fee-for-service enrollees 18 years and older.

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Medicaid managed care and Family Health Plus enrollees will be able to access immunization services through their health plans. The Governor also reported that influenza activity in New York State is now considered widespread, with more than 50 percent of counties reporting influenza activity.

“For the first time this influenza season, which officially began on September 1, we are seeing widespread flu in New York,” Governor Paterson said. “Now that H1N1 vaccine is arriving in the State, we are doing everything we can to get the vaccine to health care facilities and physicians offices so that New Yorkers can get vaccinated over the coming weeks. The federal government is asking people to be patient, as the vaccine is not expected to be available in quantities necessary for widespread vaccination until November.”

Influenza activity in New York State has increased from sporadic to widespread over the last several weeks. The new H1N1 flu virus is the predominant flu strain circulating in the State. It is expected that seasonal flu will start to circulate with H1N1 flu over the next few months.

The H1N1 vaccine is licensed by the Federal Drug Administration and is considered safe. The vaccine was developed and licensed using the same process as the seasonal vaccine, with which 100 million Americans are vaccinated each year.

State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D. said: “The H1N1 vaccine was developed in exactly the same way as the seasonal vaccine, which has been administered safely for decades. Unfortunately, there are myths circulating that erroneously claim the new H1N1 vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and shortcuts were taken in its development. This is simply not true. Clinical trials have been completed with the H1N1 vaccine, all showing the vaccine to be safe, with only occasional mild side effects such as a sore arm.”

Last week, 91,400 doses of the H1N1 vaccine were received by county health departments, hospitals and federally qualified community health centers outside of New York City. These doses were based on vaccine orders submitted by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). DOH is coordinating vaccine orders for providers outside New York City, and the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is coordinating the distribution of vaccine within the City.

DOH ordered an additional 113,400 doses of H1N1 vaccine from CDC last week and 215,500 additional doses this week, which is the maximum number of doses CDC made available to New York State outside of New York City. These orders include both the injectable vaccine and the nasal spray vaccine. New York’s first large shipments of the injectable H1N1 vaccine arrived this week in counties outside New York City, along with additional doses of the nasal spray vaccine.

There are more than 4,000 providers currently registered with DOH to receive H1N1 vaccine. The amount of vaccine available to order is expected to increase dramatically next week and the following week. DOH is making every effort to order vaccine for as many locations as possible. However, many doctor offices and clinics are not expected to receive enough H1N1 vaccine to begin vaccinating their patients until the beginning of November.

“We ask New Yorkers to be patient and recognize that health care providers and pharmacies will not have an ample supply of the H1N1 vaccine until the vaccine supply becomes more plentiful in November,” Governor Paterson said. “The doses of H1N1 vaccine received in the first several shipments are being targeted to specific priority groups as established by CDC.”
The priority groups established by CDC to receive the H1N1 influenza vaccine are:

o Pregnant women;
o Health care workers and emergency medical services personnel;
o Persons who live with or provide care for infants under six months of age;
o Children and young people ages 6 months through 24 years; and
o Persons age 25 through 64 years old who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for serious illness and influenza-related complications. These medical conditions include: cancer, blood disorders, chronic lung disease (including asthma or heart disease), diabetes, kidney disorders, liver disorders, neurological disorders, neuromuscular disorders, and weakened immune systems.

A number of county health departments are beginning to vaccinate municipal emergency medical service workers as part of CDC’s priority to vaccinate health care workers. Also, many hospitals are using their initial shipments to vaccinate their health care workers.

Because the nasal spray vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women or children under 2 years old, these groups will receive priority for the injectable H1N1 vaccine. County health departments, hospitals, community health centers, physicians and other providers are expected to make the vaccine available to these individuals.

In an effort to distribute the H1N1 vaccine more widely across the country, the federal government announced plans last week to increase distribution sites nationwide from 90,000 drop sites to 150,000 drop sites.

New Yorkers looking for more information about where to access H1N1 vaccine should confer with their health care providers as well as visit the DOH website at www.nyhealth.gov. The website features a flu clinic locator that links residents to the website of their county health departments where they can find more information about vaccine clinics being planned. County health departments will not schedule vaccine clinics until they have enough vaccine supply on hand to meet the demand.

Additional information about seasonal and H1N1 flu, including educational resources and direct links to CDC’s website, is available on DOH’s website at www.nyhealth.gov.

Source: New York Governor