Although not mandated by Virginia until the fall of 2009, some parents are opting to vaccinate their girls early against the human papillomavirus. It was presumed that the cost of the vaccine would be covered by insurance. But as this story in Wednesday’s Virginian Pilot indicates, at least one insurance company is backing off.
Dr. George Heuser, senior medical director for Optima Health, said the HPV shots were originally added to Optima plans at full coverage last fall after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention panel recommended the vaccine for young girls. But the insurance company has since removed it from its core medical services and is now offering it at different coverage levels and allowing employers to determine whether they want to pay a larger percentage.
You know how those insurance companies are: they are just looking at the bottom line.
Heuser said new, expensive vaccines have generated discussion among insurance officials across the country as to how extensively they should cover them. He said insurance executives must constantly scrutinize the new vaccines and make decisions whether to cover them as core services or as add-ons that cost companies or patients more.
The Commonwealth is picking up the tab for those who are covered by Medicaid. The shots are also available through the Health Department for free, except for an administrative fee.
It just seems silly to pay for health insurance and then have to go to the Health Department in order to get the shots. If Optima is allowed to get away with this, you can expect the other insurance companies will follow suit.
The shifting of the burden of the cost of these shots from the insurance companies to the public is not lost on me. While I still have misgivings about the vaccine, it seems that, since it is mandated, the insurance companies should be required to cover it, just like any other mandated vaccination.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
I read that article yesterday. Optima is the only one so far, right? The whole reason behind making the shots mandatory was so that insurance companies WOULD cover them – equal access and all that. I have a feeling, like you said, if they are allowed to get away with this, others will follow suit. Definitely not good for women.
Some insurance co.’s will pay for Viagra but not birth control pills. Maybe more women need to be part of the decision process.
George Bush is against increase health care coverage for kids but wants $50Billion more for the on-going war. Some crazy logic?!
I fail to see the connection between Viagra and birth control.
Anon – are a man? Just a shot in the dark. 😉
“Makes it not a difference.” –Zoltan
It just seems silly to pay for health insurance and then have to go to the Health Department in order to get the shots
Why would any insurance company cover something you can get for free from another source? Their customers benefit from the lower prices that result from not having double coverage.
If the government wishes to make this madatory, then the government should pay for it. Free mandatory (make someone else pay for it) is too easy.
I find it interesting that in this discussion over HPV, men are always the most outspoken. If this has any chance, what so ever, of preventing any type of cancer in women, insurance companies should cover it. It is a no brainer……but then again, men are the decision makers in the power base of the health care business.
The insurance companies pay for many mandatory shots. Why should this one be any different?