New Findings from Kaiser Permanente in the Area of Vaccines Described (Impact of the change of copay policy in Medicare Part D on zoster vaccine…

New Findings from Kaiser Permanente in the Area of Vaccines Described (Impact of the change of copay policy in Medicare Part D on zoster vaccine uptake among Medicare beneficiaries in a managed care organization)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Investigators publish new report on Immunization - Vaccines. According to news originating from Pasadena, California, by VerticalNews correspondents, research stated, "Kaiser Permanente Southern California (KPSC) adopted the Medicare Part D Tier-6 with zero patient copay for zoster vaccination in 2012. We assessed the impact of the implementation on zoster vaccination rate (GSK study identifier: HO-13-14,182)."

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Kaiser Permanente, "Zoster vaccination rate was examined among an open cohort of = 65-year-old Medicare Part D beneficiaries during 01/01/2008-06/30/2014, compared to = 65-year-old commercial health plan members and 60-64-year-old members. The demographics, vaccination records, and insurance and benefit type were confirmed through KPSC electronic medical record databases. Person-time based vaccination rate was calculated for each observation interval (calendar month or year). The changes in annual rates in one year pre-(2011) and post-(2012) Tier-6 implementation were compared in a difference-in-difference analysis. Linear spline Poisson regression models were fitted to compare the secular trend of monthly rates during pre and post Tier-6 implementation (01/2012). Zoster vaccination rate increased in Medicare Part D beneficiaries after the implementation of zero copay. The increase in annual vaccination rate from 2011 to 2012 was marginally higher in Medicare Part D beneficiaries but not statistically significant (difference in rate ratio [RR] = 0.04, p> 0.05) compared to commercial health plan members. Among non-Hispanic white members, the difference of RR was 0.09 (p = 0.020) between Medicare Part D beneficiaries and = 65-year-old commercial plan members, and it was 0.08 (p = 0.034) compared to 60-64-year-old commercial plan members. In secular trend analysis, we did not observe significant increase in overall and race stratified zoster vaccination rate attributable to the implementation of the Tier-6. The impact of Tier-6 on zoster vaccination was not substantial in elderly Medicare Part D beneficiaries in this population where a lower than average copay ($ 20 to $ 40) was applied prior to the Tier-6 implementation."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Further research is necessary to explore the numerical relationship between vaccination and amount of copay."

For more information on this research see: Impact of the change of copay policy in Medicare Part D on zoster vaccine uptake among Medicare beneficiaries in a managed care organization. BMC Health Services Research, 2017;17():8-15. BMC Health Services Research can be contacted at: Biomed Central Ltd, 236 Grays Inn Rd, Floor 6, London WC1X 8HL, England. (BioMed Central - www.biomedcentral.com/; BMC Health Services Research - www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from H.F. Tseng, Kaiser Permanente Southern Calif, Dept. of Res & Evaluat, Pasadena, CA 91101, United States. Additional authors for this research include L. Qian, S. Yan, Y. Luo, G. Krishnarajah and R.C. Hechter.

Keywords for this news article include: Pasadena, California, United States, North and Central America, Biological Products, Managed Care, Health Policy, Immunization, Vaccination, Medicare, Vaccines, Kaiser Permanente.

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