Massachusetts has become the first state to impose its own vaccine coverage rules.
The state now requires health insurance companies to continue covering immunizations recommended by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and not to rely solely on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations.
“When the federal government fails to protect public health, Massachusetts will step up,” Gov. Maura Healey (D) said in a statement.
Most health insurance plans are required to cover vaccines recommended by the CDC and its independent advisory panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). Recent changes to vaccine recommendations implemented by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have threatened that coverage.
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved updated COVID-19 vaccines for Americans 65 and older but changed its approval for younger people, narrowing it to people with health risks.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans support the action.
Healey introduced legislation last month to give the state’s public health department the authority to set its own independent standards for vaccine purchasing and recommendations.
A coalition of West Coast, Democratic-led states recently announced plans to form a new public health alliance that will provide “evidence-based immunization guidance.”
Healey said earlier this week that the Bay State will join other Northeastern states to create a similar coalition on the East Coast to set vaccine policy.
“As an infectious disease physician, I have seen the extraordinary impact vaccines have had in saving lives and preventing serious illness,” Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein said. “Limiting access to vaccines is not just shortsighted — it is reckless.”
