Increasing influenza vaccination rates for Medicare beneficiaries--Montana and Wyoming, 1994

Approximately 20,000 influenza-associated deaths occurred during each of 10 different epidemics in the United States during 1972-1991; most (> 90%) of the deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza occurred among persons aged > or = 65 years. Although Medicare has provided reimbursement for influenza vaccination since 1993, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) received billing claims for influenza vaccination for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 influenza seasons for only 35% and 38% of Medicare beneficiaries, respectively (HCFA, unpublished data, 1995). This report describes the impact of an intervention project in September 1994 in which individual Medicare beneficiaries aged > or = 65 years in Montana and Wyoming were contacted and encouraged to receive influenza vaccination.