Pediatricians Are Rapidly Losing Incentives to Offer Vaccines

"Health-care providers purchase roughly half of the vaccines given to children in the United States directly from manufacturers, sometimes paying hundreds of dollars per dose. They don't recoup any costs until they administer those vaccines to privately insured patients, and bill the companies. That's an enormous up-front investment for pediatric practices, generally second only to employees in terms of cost."

"Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., without citing specific evidence, has claimed otherwise-that vaccination generates massive profits for doctors. In a June interview with Tucker Carlson, he put it at "50 percent of revenues to most pediatricians," and said those profits create "perverse incentives" to push shots on their young patients. This description is so far from reality that Rana Alissa, the president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told me that any actual vaccine provider would find it laughable."

Pediatricians typically earn very small margins from providing vaccines, and some describe vaccine provision as a marginal or even loss-leading service. A high-profile claim that vaccines generate massive profits for pediatricians and create "perverse incentives" is presented without specific evidence and is widely disputed by pediatric leaders. Many practices purchase roughly half of childhood vaccines directly from manufacturers, sometimes paying hundreds of dollars per dose, and do not recoup costs until billing private insurers. Up-front vaccine procurement is a major expense, often second only to payroll, and can total hundreds of thousands annually for some practices, prompting some providers to reduce vaccine stock.

Read at The Atlantic