SB 418

Under this bill, the Department of Health Services must establish a program

that provides vaccines to individuals who are not eligible to receive the vaccines at

no cost from a federal program. Vaccines to which the bill applies are those

recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of the federal

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and included in the program by the

secretary of health services. The bill requires DHS to estimate the costs associated

with providing vaccines and, in consultation with the commissioner of insurance,

assess each payer that covers vaccines an amount to pay for this program in

accordance with the estimate plus any reserves that DHS determines are prudent.

Employee benefit plan administrators, insurers, certain health coverage plans, and

self-insured governmental health plans are considered payers in the bill. The

amount the payer is assessed must be proportional to the number of individuals

whose health benefits are administered by or on behalf of that payer in the state. The

bill allows DHS to impose an additional assessment if a new vaccine is developed.

DHS must then purchase vaccines and distribute them to health care providers to

be administered to individuals who are not eligible to receive the vaccines at no cost

from a federal program.