[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 98 (Wednesday, June 27, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4675-S4676]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Johnson of South 
        Dakota, Mr. Whitehouse, and Mr. Blumenthal):
  S. 3344. A bill to increase immunization rates; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by Senators 
Durbin, Tim Johnson, Whitehouse, and Blumenthal in the introduction of 
the Immunization Improvements Act. This legislation builds on my 
longstanding work, including several provisions I authored in the 
Affordable Care Act, to improve vaccination rates and population-based 
immunity.
  Our introduction of this legislation is particularly timely given a 
recent report cited in yesterday's Wall Street Journal revealing the 
number of deaths globally as a result of the H1N1 flu pandemic in 2009 
and 2010. The analysis found that the number of deaths from H1N1 to be 
15 times the original reports, up from 18,500 to 280,000 cases. In the 
United States, the estimates are more than triple the original cases, 
from 8,500 to nearly 30,000.
  Two provisions of the legislation we are introducing today are based 
on efforts underway in Rhode Island to improve vaccination rates 
against seasonal influenza and pneumonia. Specifically, it would 
authorize a five-state demonstration project that allows the state to 
purchase certain vaccines and distribute them free of charge to 
physicians for administration in seniors, who are at the highest risk 
of death from these preventable diseases. In addition to increasing 
vaccination rates, this model has limited the cost and administrative 
burden for providers and reduced the cost of vaccines to the Federal 
government.
  The legislation would also require hospitals and long-term care 
facilities to report on influenza vaccination rates of health care 
workers with direct patient contact, the population most likely to 
spread the flu to ill patients that may be too weak to fight it. In 
Rhode Island, simply requiring health care facilities to report on 
health care worker influenza vaccinations has resulted in improved 
rates.
  The Immunization Improvements Act would also update the allowable 
vaccine administration fees to providers

[[Page S4676]]

who vaccinate uninsured and underinsured children, as well as include a 
recommendation made by both the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission 
and the Government Accountability Office to shift vaccine coverage in 
Medicare from Part D to Part B.
  While there are many diseases and conditions that we have yet to 
prevent, there are those for which we already have vaccines. We must do 
more to ensure that these vaccines are available and accessed to 
protect the health of Americans.
  This legislation has been endorsed by Every Child By Two, the 
Immunization Action Coalition, Partnership for Prevention, the 
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National 
Association of County and City Health Officials, and Trust for 
America's Health. I look forward to working with my colleagues to see 
these provisions enacted.
                                 ______