Vaccine For Children
Arizona Immunization Program Office (AIPO)
Mollen Immunization Clinics is working with the Arizona Immunization Program Office (AIPO) to reach the Year 2010 goal of immunizing 90% of Arizona’s kids by age two with the recommended vaccines for children.
Mollen Immunization Clinics participates in the Arizona Vaccines for Children Program (VFC) to provide the administration of vaccines to the following children:
- Medicaid enrolled (AHCCS)
- Uninsured
- Native American/Alaskan Native
- Some Underinsured
Eligibility
Children through 18 years-of-age who meet at least one of the following criteria are eligible to receive VFC vaccine:
Medicaid: A child eligible for the Medicaid program - for the purposes of the VFC program, the terms “Medicaid-eligible” and “Medicaid-enrolled” are equivalent and refer to children who have health insurance covered by a state Medicaid Program.
Uninsured: A child who has no health insurance coverage.
American Indian or Alaska Native: as defined by the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)
Underinsured: A child who has commercial (private) health insurance but the coverage does not include vaccines, a child who insurance covers only selected vaccines (VFC - eligible for non-covered vaccines only), or a child whose insurance caps vaccine coverage at a specific amount - once that coverage amount is reached the child is categorized as underinsured. Underinsured children are eligible to receive VFC vaccine only through a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) Mollen Immunization Clinics designated office is located at 8328 E. Hartford Drive, Scottsdale, AZ, 85255. Children whose health insurance covers the cost of vaccinations are not eligible for VFC vaccines, even if a claim for the cost of the vaccine and its administration would be denied for payment by the insurance carrier because the plan’s deductible had not been met.
The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) know as Title XXI, enables states to expand health insurance coverage for uninsured children, eligibility as follows:
- Title XXI children enrolled in a separate State Children Health Insurance Program are not VFC-eligible because these children are considered insured
- Title XXI children enrolled in a Medicaid-expansion SCHIP program are Medicaid eligible and entitled to VFC program benefits
- Some states have implemented their SCHIP programs as a combination plan with some children becoming Medicaid eligible through an expansion plan and some children enrolled in a separate SCHIP
- Medicaid-eligible children are entitled to VFC program benefits
- Children enrolled in the separate SCHIP program are considered insured and are not entitle to VFC program benefits
Payment Required?
If your child meets one of the VFC eligibility criteria, as listed above, the vaccine must be provided free of charge. Federal tax dollars have paid for these vaccines for children so no one may charge a fee for the vaccine itself.
However, each state immunization provider has been granted (by law) the ability to charge an “administrative fee”. This fee is similar to a patient’s co-pay, in that it assists providers to offset the cost of doing business. The amount of the administrative fee differs from state to state based upon a regional scale determined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS).
Vaccines Provided
Consult the official list: Approved Vaccines and Biologicals for the VFC Program. Provided vaccines include:
- Diptheria
- H1N1
- Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib)
- Hepatitis A
- Hepatitis B
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
- Influenza
- Measles
- Meningococcal
- Mumps
- Pertussis (whooping cough)
- Pneumococcal
- Polio
- Rotavirus
- Rubella (German measles)
- Tetanus (lockjaw)
- Variecella (chickenpox)
Vaccine Availability
VFC vaccines may be obtained at Mollen Immunization Clinics, located at 8328 E. Hartford Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
Contact Us
Content Source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases & CDC
