Contact: Tyler Brannen
Email: Tyler.Brannen@ins.nh.gov
The New Hampshire Vaccine Association, a non-profit organization formed pursuant to RSA 126-Q, funds a specific list of child vaccines through an assessment paid by carriers. This assessment extends to carriers providing stoploss coverage in order to use a comprehensive assessment base that includes self-funded employer accounts. The funds raised through the assessment are used to purchase vaccines in bulk to take advantage of group purchasing, better economies of scale, and improved access to vaccines for children.
In recent years the number of lives covered under the assessment base has become smaller, increasing the proportional assessment on the remaining populations. House Bill 664 under consideration during the 2013 legislative session attempts to address the assessment base by including self-funded membership. The New Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID) does not have a position on this bill.
This analysis was performed by the New Hampshire Insurance Department (NHID), using the New Hampshire Comprehensive Health Information System (NHCHIS), as a way to better understand the patterns of vaccines use and membership distribution so that policymakers can be more informed as alternatives to the current assessment funding mechanism are considered.