Insurance reimbursements for human papillomavirus vaccination in the private sector, 2007-2014

This study aims to assess payments to private providers for HPV vaccination. We used the 2007-2014 MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database and included 3,456,180 HPV vaccination visits made by adolescents aged 11-17 years and enrolled in a non-capitated insurance plan in 37 states. We examined insurance reimbursements and its time trend for vaccine purchase and vaccine administration. Using the vaccine purchase price published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the vaccination payment recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), we evaluated the financial concerns of administering HPV vaccines among private providers. In 2007-2014, the mean vaccine purchase reimbursement was $159.17 and the mean vaccine administration reimbursement was $23.91. During the study period, vaccine purchase reimbursements did not significantly change, but vaccine administration reimbursements increased. On average, 89.9% of the HPV claims received vaccine purchase reimbursements greater than the CDC-published price and 14.1% of HPV claims received vaccine purchase reimbursements above the AAP-recommended payment. Our results suggest that private providers are likely to receive sufficient reimbursements to cover the costs of administering HPV vaccines. However, the profit margin is likely to be small.