Topic: Who actually pays for an `epidemic vaccine'?
Truthfinder
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8512
posted
Perhaps someone in the medical field can help me understand this.
In the current scenario - at least as I understand it - various governments offer monetary incentives to vaccine manufacturers to develop an `H1N1 vaccine', and then contract with those companies to purchase X number of doses for their country's population once a vaccine is available.
So, the government buys the vaccine initially, and then what happens? Do various pharmacies, doctors, and hospitals buy the vaccine from the government? Or, does the government bear the whole cost and the vaccines are `donated' to various outlets for distribution?
Come to think of it, I don't know how the seasonal flu vaccine program works. I assume that drug companies simply produce X number of vaccinations per year, and doctors, pharmacies, etc. simply buy these vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies. I really don't know, though.
For instance, in our town, you can get a seasonal flu shot at the local grocery store on certain days at certain times for $25. I assume that the pharmacy in the grocery store buys the vaccines at wholesale from the drug companies, then administers them at a profit to the public, yes? (Similar to getting a vaccination at your doctor's office.)
Does anybody know?
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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emla999/Lyme
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That's a good question!!!
It wouldn't surprise me none if I learned that it was the taxpayer whom ends up paying for most of the bill.
Posts: 1223 | From U.S.A | Registered: Jul 2007
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lymie_in_md
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Member # 14197
posted
I read somewhere the government authorized 190 mm dollars to a pharma company to create some of vaccines needed. So from that, I suspect it means the government is footing the bill for some of it. How much is hard to say. As far as I'm concerned, I think this is much ado about nothing.
However, I don't like my freedoms being stepped on (massachusetts just legislated breaking down your door if you don't take the vaccine). Like the threat of forcing people to take the vaccine. I wonder why our government feels qualified to determine medicine in this country. I think this is a very slippery slope we seeing our government take. What next, what schools we have to attend what jobs we are qualified for, where does it stop?
-------------------- Bob Posts: 2150 | From Maryland | Registered: Dec 2007
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However, I don't like my freedoms being stepped on (massachusetts just legislated breaking down your door if you don't take the vaccine).
Not yet. It passed the Senate and is headed to the House sometime soon for a vote.
"Republican Sen. Robert Hedlund, of Weymouth, voted for the measure and said he now regrets it."
(how convenient for him--too little too late, pal!)
"There is a fine line between protecting our civil liberties and protecting public health. And there's areas of this bill that may cross that line, he said."
emla999/Lyme
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posted
Does anybody know??
Posts: 1223 | From U.S.A | Registered: Jul 2007
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disturbedme
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Member # 12346
posted
Gosh, that is just freaking me out and terrifying me!!!!!!!!! -- I mean about them voting about the vaccine being mandatory in Mass! How can they do this?!?! If they make me get the vaccine, I will not survive it, my immune system is extremely weak. They will probably kill more people by making them get the vaccine than the swine flu itself.
-------------------- One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar. ~ Helen Keller
My Lyme Story Posts: 2965 | From Land of Confusion (bitten in KS, moved to PA, now living in MD) | Registered: Jun 2007
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northstar
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7911
posted
Regarding the proposed Mass. bill involving not only forced vaccinations, but also militaristic control if there were some outbreak:
Is there not a brand new biowarfare facility in downtown Boston? What are the ties between legislators and this CDC research complex?
Please correct me if I have facts wrong.....
Northstar
Posts: 1331 | From hither and yonder | Registered: Sep 2005
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Truthfinder
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posted
emla, I think you may be right. I think this amounts to a basic case of awarding `government contracts' - and some very large ones, at that. I'm being cynical but perhaps this whole `swine flu' scare is `payoff' for Big Pharma dollars contributed in last year's elections.
Right again, Bob - the government is trying to practice medicine and be `experts' at a lot of things they know zilch about. It isn't fair to us, and it really isn't fair to them, either.
I still find nothing in the Mass. bill that requires vaccination; but if you refuse it, you may have to submit to quarantine or be fined. Quarantined where? If that means in your own residence, then that's okay with me. If they plan to cart you off to some camp with a bunch of potentially sick people, then that makes no sense either.
I've spent a little time Googling about this `who pays?' issue every day, trying to find out more info, and I'm getting nothing. The cost of the H1N1 vaccine to the USA government varies widely depending on the report.
I did find one thing that mentions cost, and an `alternative' type of immunization (which I admit I happen to favor anyway ). But note the enormous savings to the American people, and the loss of revenue to the drug companies.........
quote:COMMENT: I am often asked why Governments do not avail themselves of this option [referring to homeopathic immunization], especially when there is no proven highly effective vaccine available (some would say for any flu, but certainly for Swine Flu). The answer is simple, and based on economics.
In 2007 the Cuban Government homeopathically immunized 2,400,000 people against the potentially fatal leptospirosis disease which is endemic in their country, and 2,200,000 people in 2008. Statistical analyses showed that both campaigns proved highly successful. The 2007 campaign cost around $400,000.
This means that the USA could be homeopathically immunized against Swine Flu for less than $100,000,000 ($100 million). It could be completed within 3-4 weeks of making the executive decision, rather than waiting for months.
The USA Government is asking for $2,000,000,000 [$2 BILLION] just to develop a vaccine, and it will be charged a similar amount to deliver it. [That's $4 BILLION, total.] So if homeoprophylaxis was used the vaccine industry would loose $3,900,000,000 ($3 BILLION, 900 million) of potential revenue.
On a smaller scale, the similar equation plays out in every developed country. This is not a conspiracy theory, it is basic economics. But do you know any politicians who will listen?
NOTE: Isaac Golden is an Australian homeopath who has been in practice since 1984. He is a world authority on homeoprophylaxis - the use of homoeopathic medicines for specific infectious disease prevention, and has undertaken the world's largest long-term study of parents using such a program.
In 2004 he completed a PhD research program at the GSIM, Swinburne University, Melbourne, studying homeoprophylaxis. This is the first time a mainstream Australian University has accepted such a topic for orthodox research.
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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lightparfait
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posted
This needs to be exposed in the media.
Posts: 1009 | From NJ | Registered: Aug 2009
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emla999/Lyme
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Member # 12606
"Federal funds will pay for the vaccinations and to reimburse doctors and health care providers administering the two-dose vaccines, which must be given about four weeks apart."
So, according to that article the "free" H1N1 flu vaccinations will be payed for by Federal funds. After reading that I immediately began to wonder "Where does the money for Federal funds come from?"
"The largest share of federal fund revenues comes from individual income taxes, so the federal funds breakdown can be used to examine how an individual income tax dollar is spent.
Corporate income, excise, estate and gift taxes, other special collections, and borrowing also finance federal funds activities."
So, to me, it looks as though the American taxpayer will be paying for much of the bill.
Posts: 1223 | From U.S.A | Registered: Jul 2007
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Starfall1969
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posted
So in the end, if I get the vaccine (which I won't) and it kills me, I pretty much paid for killing myself. Government assisted (or is that mandated) suicide?
Posts: 1682 | From Dillsburg, PA | Registered: Sep 2008
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Truthfinder
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Member # 8512
posted
It appears you may be right, Starfall.
Wow, emla! Thank you! I guess I need to learn more about searching the Internet for info!
Interesting that your first link - which comes from a New Hampshire newspaper - says that not only do U.S. taxpayers foot the bill for the vaccine itself, we also pay whatever costs are incurred paying health care workers to administer it. So, we can add substantial `administration costs' to the $4 Billion for the vaccine.
Whether or not H1N1 vaccinations will be `free' appears to depend on state and local authorities. For instance, Mayor Bloomberg of NYC is authorizing free `swine flu' shots for all NYC schoolchildren (though vaccination is not mandatory). The story says nothing about shots being free for anyone else. And wouldn't it mention that if it were the case?
Hmmmm.
So, I'm not sure the question has been entirely answered. Will New Hampshire and NYC have to reimburse the federal government for any of this and absorb the actual cost themselves? Or do all states get a `freebie' from the federal government, and then decide whether to charge for it (and therefore make a profit on it)?
I suspect that the federal government (meaning we taxpayers) picks up that tab. Then states, counties, and municipalities decide how to use their `windfall'.
I'm going to call the Colorado Influenza blah blah blah Coalition to see what I can find out. There's nothing on our Governor's website except recommendations to get all flu shots. I sincerely doubt ANYTHING will be free in our state, and that's all I'd better say about it or it will turn into a political rant.
What is VERY CLEAR, though, is that the vaccine manufacturers cannot lose and have virtually no risk, since we now have legislation that protects them from being sued. Nice work, if you can get it.
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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lightparfait
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Truthfinder
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Member # 8512
posted
Well, so far I've contacted several agencies, including 2 different Colorado Health Department offices, and neither of them can tell me anything about whether our state pays for the vaccinations it receives. In fact, the `H1N1 hotline' people can't even tell me if there will be a charge for the vaccinations themselves here in CO. They won't know anything about that until sometime in October.
So, I called the CDC. I got put on hold for awhile while the operator `researched' my question. She came back on and said that all she could tell me is that the H1N1 vaccine is ``federally funded''. Those were her words. And she could not refer me to any other department or agency that might be able to answer my question.
(As an aside, I also found out that you won't have any immunity to THIS `swine flu' if you had the 1976 swine flu - like I did - because it's a different strain. I suspected that but wondered what they would tell me so I asked.)
Yesterday, I sent an e-mail with my question to the Congressional Budget Office. I asked them to please refer me to the proper entity if they could not answer my question. No word yet.
So, again, if the CDC is correct and the federal govt totally picks up the tab for this, then I'd pay attention to those states that will not be offering the vaccinations for free. Somebody will be making money on the deal: Either the state will or the practitioners and departments they send the vaccines out to, or both. And I'd like to know where my tax dollars go on this deal.
quote:Health researcher Bill Sardi writes, ``There is a cozy relationship here where the World Health Organization prematurely declares a pandemic which coerces more than 80 governments to purchase flu vaccines and then public health authorities invoke mandatory flu vaccination programs for school children and become the free sales agents for the vaccine makers. The vaccine makers then funnel profits back to the politicians in the form of political contributions which are veiled kickbacks.''
Sounds about right to me. Which is why I'm interested in this.
BTW, Bill Sardi is the guy who wrote about the amazing cancer cure that no one cares about - I posted about it awhile back.
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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Truthfinder
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posted
No big surprise but I never did get an answer from the Congressional Budget Office. I think they're a little busy trying to keep pace with the proposed spending sprees by Congress.
The bottom line is that the U.S. taxpayer foots the bill for the H1N1 vaccine, and then individuals who receive the vaccine may pay an additional `administrative fee' to local, commercial providers.
For instance, in Georgia you may pay an administrative fee of up to $25 if you get your vaccination from a private entity such as Walgreens, though many private health insurance carriers will cover any cost associated with swine flu vaccinations. I see that our Walgreens here in my town is charging $25 for H1N1 immunizations (though they don't have any to give yet).
quote:The federal government has purchased the H1N1 vaccine and is providing it to the states free of charge. This is different in many places from the seasonal flu vaccine.
Public vaccination clinics (sponsored by local health departments at schools or other places) will offer vaccine at no charge. Some private providers may charge a small fee to administer the vaccine, but cost should not be a barrier to getting immunized.
quote:...The federal government purchased all of the pandemic H1N1 vaccine being distributed to Americans, starting with the initial doses that began to reach high-risk people in early October.
The government also paid for the ancillary supplies, such as syringes, needles, and alcohol swabs, as well campaigns to promote the vaccine, according to information posted Oct. 7 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last June, The U. S. Congress appropriated (USD) $7.65 billion for H1N1 and other pandemic influenza preparedness and response activities, said Elleen Kane, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
From that, HHS has either spent or plans to spend $6.15 billion; another $240 million is being spent by other government agencies, bringing the total expense to $6.39 billion. HHS officials are monitoring whether additional expenditures will be needed, Ms. Kane said.
Almost a quarter of the $6.15 billion has gone to states and hospitals to support their planning and preparation for vaccination campaigns....
Reimbursement to private providers by private health insurance plans is at the discretion of each plan, but the CDC said it expects private plans will do so. Coverage for administration of the H1N1 vaccine is already guaranteed from Medicare, the U.S. Veterans Administration, TRICARE, and the U.S. Indian Health Service.
It's also expected that health centers that receive federal funding to provide health care to underserved populations will administer the vaccine to uninsured people as part of their existing grants, according to the CDC. Reimbursement levels are the same as for administration of seasonal flu vaccine, about $20. http://www.thelancet.com/H1N1-flu/egmn/0c03bfca
Sounds like private entities could make a lot of $$ off this. Walgreens, for instance, already offers seasonal flu vaccinations, so it isn't like they have to hire someone new to give the H1N1 immunizations. They may need some additional help for a few days once the vaccines are available, but not beyond that.
Cha-ching. Smile if you are a happy taxpayer.
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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-------------------- My biofilm film: www.whyamistillsick.com 2004 Mycoplasma Pneumonia 2006 Positive after 2 years of hell 2006-08 Marshall Protocol. Killed many bug species 2009 - Beating candida, doing better Lahey Clinic in Mass: what a racquet! Posts: 830 | From Mass. | Registered: Aug 2006
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). But note the enormous savings to the American people, and the loss of revenue to the drug companies.........![[shake]](graemlins/shake.gif)
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