May 27, 2021
Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leaders McConnell and McCarthy:
During Older Americans Month, we, the undersigned organizations that care about healthy aging, write to offer our strong support for the Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act (S. 912/H.R. 1978). This bipartisan, bicameral legislation, led by Senators Hirono, Capito, Whitehouse, and Scott, and Representatives Kuster and Bucshon is especially important in the wake of coronavirus public health crisis.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 50,000 adults died from vaccine-preventable diseases each year. Millions more suffer the health effects of those diseases, causing them to miss work to care for themselves or others and leaving them unable to engage in their routine activities. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated this, causing adults to delay or avoid interactions with the health care system for preventative services. A component of combatting COVID-19 is a wider adoption of preventive health strategies to reduce the burden of co-morbid conditions that put people at higher risk of worse outcomes of COVID-19. Immunizing against all vaccine-preventable diseases will both contribute to better health outcomes overall and preserve vital capacity at hospitals by reducing preventable admissions. Despite the well-known benefits of immunization, adult coverage lagged behind federal targets for most commonly recommended vaccines.
The Protecting Seniors Through Immunization Act will help strengthen vaccine uptake by improving education and equitable access to recommended vaccines for Medicare beneficiaries. It will bring much needed parity to the out-of-pocket payment required of Medicare beneficiaries for vaccines covered under Part B and Part D. Copayments apply only to vaccines covered under Medicare Part D (tetanus-diphtheria-acellular pertussis (Tdap) and varicella zoster (shingles)), and vary widely across plans. Immunizations should be available with no cost to the beneficiary in the same way vaccines are covered under Part B (Covid-19, flu, pneumococcal). Removing this barrier will provide a direct financial and health benefit for people age 65 and over and will help to improve our national preparedness among the Medicare population.
Thank you for your consideration of support.
Sincerely,
Adult Vaccine Access Coalition
Alliance for Aging Research
Alliance for Immunizations in Michigan
Alliance for Patient Access
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN)
American Behcet’s Disease Association (ABDA)
American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM)
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
American Immunization Registry Association (AIRA)
American Kidney Fund
American Lung Association
American Pharmacists Association (APhA)
American Public Health Association (APHA)
American Society on Aging
Answer2Cancer
Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO)
Association of Immunization Managers (AIM)
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC)
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)
AstraZeneca
Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO)
California Immunization Coalition
CancerCare
Caregiver Action Network
Caring Ambassadors Program
Coalition of Wisconsin Aging and Health Groups
COPD Foundation
Dynavax
Families Fighting Flu
Generations United
Geriatric Medicine Pas
Global Healthy Living Foundation
GSK
HealthHIV
HealthyWomen
Hep B United
Hepatitis B Foundation
Idaho Immunization Clinic
Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
Immunize Colorado
Immunize Nevada
Immunize Ohio
ImmunizeTN
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
Justice in Aging
KelseyCare Advantage
Kelsey-Seybold Clinic Clinic
Kimberly Coffey Foundation
Lupus and Allied Diseases Association, Inc.
Lupus Foundation of America
Medical University of South Carolina
Medicago
Merck
Moderna
National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs (NANASP)
National Black Nurses Association (NBNA)
National Caucus and Center on Black Aging
National Coalition for LGBT Health
National Consumers League
National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians (NCAPIP)
National Education Association (NEA)
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)
National Grange
National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA)
National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable (NVHR)
Novavax
Patient Access Network (PAN) Foundation
Pfizer
Physician Assistants in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (PAHPM)
Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition
RetireSafe
Sanofi
Scientific Technologies Corporation (STC)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
The AIDS Institute
The Arizona Partnership for Immunization
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA)
The Immunization Partnership
Triage Cancer
Trust for America’s Health
Tulsa Area Immunization Coalition
University of Pennsylvania
Vaccinate Your Family
Vaccine Ambassadors
Valneva
WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease
Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)