New Policy Change To Texas Vaccine Program

A new policy from the state of Texas could send you looking for a new place to get your children vaccinated.

As of January 1 2012, changes to the Texas Vaccines for Children Program mean that now only children who are uninsured, covered by Medicaid or Chip, will get vaccines from the program.

Under prior policy, no child — insured or not — was denied a vaccine in public health department clinics.

With the new policy change, children covered by a private company will be referred to their physician and not a city-run clinic.

Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services say the changes are due to budget cuts at the federal and state levels.

“That’s a good public policy decision to not use state tax dollars for vaccines that would otherwise be covered by a person’s private insurance,” said Bruce Parsons, El Paso’s assistant health director.

If a child does not have access to vaccinations through their physician, parents will have to work with the insurance provider to find a doctor that does.

“Many private providers depend on us to do the vaccinations because they are inundated with both sick kids and well-child visits,” said Parsons.

Dr. John Guggedahl, an El Paso pediatrician, said vaccinating children is part of his core business.

“When you have insurance, in a way, you’ve already paid for the vaccine so if you don’t utilize your insurance to get your child vaccinated then you’re paying twice,” said Dr. Guggedahl.

For some parents, convenience is the issue.

“We take our kids to the pediatrician to get vaccinated, but every once in awhile, when we don’t want to wait or wait for an appointment, we go to a clinic where we can be seen by a doctor without an appointment,” said West El Paso resident Elizabeth Neubauer.

Parsons said health officials, will monitor in the coming months, whether families with private insurance are actually taking their children to a physician for vaccines.