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Advisory FAQs
The Vermont Vaccine Purchasing Program (VVPP) operates to ensure that all Vermonters have access to immunizations recommended for children and adults. Authorized by 18 V.S.A. § 1130 and launched on April 1, 2011, the program establishes an insurer-funded vaccine purchasing pool that enables the Vermont Department of Health (VDH) to purchase pediatric and adult vaccines at the lowest possible price and to distribute them to providers free of charge. The program serves two main goals: to lower health care costs and to improve Vermonters’ health by raising immunization rates.
These advisory FAQs offer guidance about the program to payers and providers. The Vermont Department of Health invites anyone having suggestions or additional questions about these advisory FAQs to direct inquiries to info@VTvaccine.org.
The advisory FAQs are divided into five broad categories:
1. “A” means questions related to Assessments.
2. “C” means questions related to Covered Lives.
3. “G” means questions related to Government Programs.
4. “P” means questions related to Providers.
5. “V” means questions related to Vaccines.
Assessments
A1. Why did the Vermont legislature form the Vermont Vaccine Purchasing Program (VVPP)?
VVPP was formed to fund and manage Vermont’s universal vaccine purchasing program. This program enables Vermont to purchase vaccines for the state’s entire population and distribute them to health care providers free of charge. In states without such universal programs, providers must purchase vaccines with money out of their own pockets, then await reimbursement from insurance companies
The program also saves money. By purchasing vaccines in bulk at federal contract rates, Vermont qualifies for the largest discount available from the pharmaceutical industry. VVPP funds vaccine purchases with assessments collected from assessed entities.
A2. Are insurance carriers the only ones paying for vaccines administered in Vermont?
A3. What does “Assessed Entity” mean?
A4. Must both the employer and the insurer or TPA administering the plan pay the assessment for a given covered life?
A5. Must ERISA plans pay the assessment?
A6. Are any plans excused from paying assessments?
Yes. The following plans are excused from paying assessments: Medicare supplement plans, college plans, pharmacy benefit plans, ASOs and TPAs for behavioral and dental health plans, and plans that do not include immunization services. If you are unsure whether your plan is required to pay assessments, please email VVPP at info@VTvaccine.org or call 1-855-543-7829.
Please note that plans excused from the assessment must self-certify that they have no business to which a vaccine assessment properly should be applied. If a plan’s status changes, it must notify VVPP and begin paying assessments.
A7. How are an entity’s assessments determined?
Each entity’s assessment is based on the entity’s total number of child covered lives and adult covered lives in the months during the previous quarter, multiplied by the respective VVPP assessment rates for children and adults. Payers are required to accurately report child and adult covered lives each quarter. VVPP’s automated web-based assessment system then calculates the assessment amounts owed.
A8. What are the VVPP assessment rates for child and adult covered lives?
A9. What method will be used to: a) determine the number of children and adults with private insurance and b) determine the VVPP program costs that will be factored into the assessment?
a) The total number of children and adults with private insurance will be determined based on the most recent data available through the assessment system when the rate is set.
b) The program costs include costs incurred by the Vermont Department of Health in administering the program, as well as the cost of KidsVax® services such as the VVPP website creation and assessment administration.
A10. Where can I find more details about the VVPP assessment rate calculation?
A11. When are assessment payments due?
A12. What if VVPP collects too little?
A13. What if VVPP collects too much?
A14. What if a beneficiary gets a vaccine in a neighboring state—can the payer get a discount
No. VVPP will work with neighboring states to establish equitable child covered lives policies, but we do not provide a discount for vaccines that may have been administered in other states.
A15. Are payments made by assessment payers accountable as medical expenses?
A16. Does the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) preempt any provisions of the VVPP?
A17. Where do I go to complete the online assessment?
http://www.VTvaccine.org/assessment. First-time users must register before they can log in to the assessment system. Please note that because of the system’s security features, there may be a delay of up to 30 minutes before a new account can be accessed for data entry.
A18. Are there any tutorials on the use of this system?
Yes. Webinar videos and filing guides are available under the “Web Training” and “Filing Guides” links on the “FOR PAYERS” page.
A19. What if I have registered in the assessment system, but I need to change some of my information?
A20. If I make a mistake in my report, how can I correct it?
A21. I accidentally overpaid. Can I be reimbursed?
A22. How do I submit my payment?
A23. Am I required to pay by ACH transfer?
A24. What if I submit a late report or payment?
A25. When is my remittance considered paid?
A26. How do I create a Password for the Assessment System on this Site?
A27. What should I do if my company has created a password for the assessment system on this website, but I no longer have it?
You can have your password reset by sending an e-mail to help@VTvaccine.org. In the e-mail, please state that you have registered on the website, but you have forgotten your password. Please also include your Federal EIN. We will then reset your password for you.
A28. Are payers double paying for a vaccine when a private provider administers a vaccine that was not purchased through the state system?
Covered Lives
C1. Must entities report only child covered lives, or should adult covered lives be included as well?
C2. What are “adult covered lives”?
“Adult covered lives” are Vermont residents who are age 19 to 64 and are covered under a health benefit plan provided or administered by an Assessed Entity.
For reports filed for reporting periods after January 1, 2016, only individuals up to age 64 are included in the program. This is a change from the prior procedure. This change will apply to the reports that are due on May 15, 2016. For reports filed for time periods prior to January 1, 2016, adult covered lives included all individuals age 19 and older, without any age limit.
C3. What are “child covered lives”?
C4. What if I do not know the specific address where a child resides, and am unable, therefore, to determine with certainty whether he or she is a Vermont resident?
Plans are permitted to use a commercially reasonable methodology to estimate the number of child covered lives. For example, some plans may want to use the address of the primary insured to determine the residence of the child. So long as a methodology is uniformly used in a manner which does not bias the report towards a lower child covered lives number, such a reasonable estimate is acceptable. Whenever an estimate is used, please include a brief description of the methodology in the “Additional Questions” section of the self-reporting system.
C5. What if a child of a Vermont primary insured attends school out of state—is that life counted?
C6. Must an entity file reports even if it does not provide medical benefits and therefore has zero covered lives?
C7. If an entity files a Permanant Zero Covered Lives Report, but it later has covered lives, what should it do?
C8. If my company has filed an Annual Zero Covered Lives Report, when should we file our next report?
Government Programs
G1. Has VVPP changed anything for the federally-funded Vaccines for Children (VFC) program or state-sponsored medical plans?
G2. Do providers still need to screen for VFC eligibility?
Providers
P1. Does this program affect how providers receive vaccine?
P2. What are the benefits to my practice if we enroll in the VFC and/or VFA program?
P3. Can VDH require all providers to enroll in the VFC and/or VFA program?
P4. Can VDH provide a list of participating providers in “real time”?
P5. How will this program affect patients?
P6. What if my office no longer wants to participate in the VFC and/or VFA program and wants to privately purchase and bill for vaccines?
P7. Should providers bill $0.00 or $0.01 for state-supplied vaccines?
Vaccines
V1. Does VVPP set vaccine policy?
V2. What vaccines are covered by VVPP?
V3. Is the cost of seasonal flu vaccine included in the vaccine cost estimates?
V4. Does this program establish a vaccine mandate?
V5. What is the Immunization Registry?
The Vermont Immunization Registry (IMR) is a confidential, computerized system for maintaining immunization records. It tracks the dates of immunizations given, prints reports for parents/schools, and provides guidance for timing of vaccine administration.
V6. How does VVPP impact my taxes?
These FAQs were last updated on January 2, 2016. (FAQ C2 updated).


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