So ...... a little update... Caleigh HAS the CHiCKEN Pox! all I can say is WTF??? Really? She had the shot.... I thought that meant NO chicken Pox's! WRONG!!! It's a MILD case but still I'm in SHOCK. WHO WHAT WHEN WHERE WHY? Can you tell I'm mad. Caleigh has been sick for the last 8 days. and now we have to deal with this....on top of ALL that. My doctor. The Doctor I love and trust ... is no longer carrying Vaccines! AGAIN WTF??? I AM 100% a firm believer of vaccinating your kids! Now I have to go to the YUCKY health department to get Brookie's shots. To top all of that off since I have insurance I have to pay for them! AGH... So now I'm sitting her google everything I can on why the hell Nevada Sucks....
this is what I found out.
Nevada is the worst in the nation when it comes to vaccinating our kids. A change in the way vaccines are provided may push our immunization rates even lower.
Until recently, Nevada parents didn't pay for vaccines -- the state picked up the tab regardless of whether you had insurance. But cuts in federal funding have forced the state to focus on the neediest children, raising questions about what happens to the kids who do have insurance.
For more than 20 years, the State Health Division has provided vaccines for kids , free of charge, regardless of whether you had health insurance. It's part of an effort to improve the state's dismal immunization rate.
But dwindling federal dollars have forced the state re-evaluate spending. As of last week, the chicken pox vaccine comes at a cost, with six other shots, like diphtheria, hepatitis B and polio soon to follow.
"Right now, Nevada is 50 out of 50 for on-time vaccination rates. We're the worst in the country and this situation, unless we manage it correctly, will definitely not get better as a result of what's happening, said Dr. Lisa Glasser.
Private physicians, like Dr. Glasser, will now have to order vaccines from the pharmaceutical companies, and for the first time, bill insurers for the immunizations formally provided by the state.
Glasser says historically, several insurance companies have failed to reimburse doctors for the total cost of some vaccines, forcing them to send patients elsewhere for immunizations.
"Here you have a parent who's paying for health insurance, they bring their child to the pediatrician, they're told you can't get the vaccine here, you have to go to the health department," she said.
For kids with health coverage, the Southern Nevada Health District charges $95 cash for the chicken pox vaccine. They will not bill insurance.
"We really need the health insurance plans to pick up the costs for those fully insured children, so that we can focus our dwindling vaccine funds on those more needy children, underinsured kids, uninsured kids, children on Medicaid and Nevada Check Up," said Doug Banghart with the State Division of Health.
To manage the change, the state plans to put together a transition team to include doctors, insurance companies and other health officials. The hope is that insurers will cover the actual cost of the seven vaccines, so pediatricians can continue to provide them during office visits.
Otherwise, "The odds of children going unvaccinated become sky high the moment you fracture the medical home like that. That's what's going to happen."
Right now, the chicken pox vaccine is the only one affected. The rest will be phased out by the end of the year. It will likely take a while for everyone to adjust to the change.
If your child is covered by insurance and he or she needs a vaccination in the near future, call ahead to your pediatrician to make sure he or she will provide it.
so yeah I'm pretty much PO... had to vent somewhere... looks like you know where I will be tomorrow .... in line at the Health department... ooooo goodie!!
