There was an alarming piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer today. Apparently there may be problems with reimbursement for physicians giving the new Cervical Cancer vaccine. For those who have been lucky enough to miss out on Merck's huge marketing campaign, this vaccine protects against three strains of HPV, Human Papiloma Virus. Two of the strains, while unpleasant, are not seriously harmful, while the third can lead to cervical cancer. Ten women die each day in the US from cervical cancer. I don't want my daughter to be one of them. The problem brought up in this article is that insurance companies are not paying enough for doctors to be able to afford to give the vaccine.
Quick, firm action on our part could do a lot to change this situation. Read on for details.
Here's the key quote from the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Pediatricians - already responsible for administering many vaccines against a host of illnesses - have emerged as the primary providers of Gardasil. The problem, they say, is that insurers are not paying enough to cover their administrative expenses, which add 18 percent to 25 percent to the vaccine's $360 base price.
And reimbursement rates vary. Pediatricians say Independence Blue Cross, the major private carrier in Southeastern Pennsylvania, pays significantly less than Highmark Blue Shield or Capital Blue Cross, which cover other parts of the state.
"It's the difference between losing your shirt and breaking even," said Reading pediatrician Mark Reuben, author of an American Academy of Pediatrics report on vaccine costs. "Medicare's administrative fee for Gardasil is $18. [Independence] isn't even paying what Medicare pays."
The first line of attack on this is to push the insurance companies to fully reimburse physiscians for providing this vaccine. So start by calling the customer service number for your insurance company. Ask what their reimbursement is for Gardisil. Based on the Inquirer article, the target should be in the $440 - $480 range for a complete course (3 injections). Make it clear that you expect them to do everything possible to make this vaccine accessible for everyone. If you get resistance, a good way to push harder is to bring the issue to your employer's benefits management. They are the direct customer to the insurance company, and often have leverage that an individual doesn't.
The next step is to cut the costs of the HPV vaccine. Merck has clearly decided that they need a HUGE marketing campaign to raise public awareness of the link between HPV and cervical cancer, and to drive consumer demand for the vaccine. In part, this may be tied to resistance to the vaccine coming from parts of the fundagelical right. (See Talk 2 Action HERE) We know that the largest single expene for big pharmaceutical companies isn't development; it's marketing. So let's remove their marketing costs.
We need to speak up to our legislators and public health administrations and push to make this vaccine a standard part of the pre-high school innoculation program. I don't know for sure, but I'll bet you the marketing costs aren't very high for the Measles/Mumps/Rubella, or Diptheria/Pertussis/Tetnus shots that are required in most (all?) states. Why market when the shots are mandatory? Contact your state health department. Let them know that you support requiring the HPV vaccine at least for all pre-teen girls.
HPV is a virus, like polio or smallpox. Like them, if we can reduce it's ability to infect a new generation, the virus dies out. As a public health policy, this should be a no-brainer. Like polio or smallpox, we have the opportunity to wipe out the HPV virus.
What are you waiting for? Go make your calls. Protect our daughters.
More HPV info, from the Merck website
Anyone with better information on this - please chime in. Any docs reading? Please share your experiences. I'd be thrilled to find out this isn't the problem it appears to be. But with our current medical system, I won't set my hopes too high.