The Arizona Senate passed Senate Bill 1212 this week on a party-line vote. If it becomes law, it could make it harder for doctors to protect kids and communities from vaccine-preventable diseases.
SB 1212 would ban health insurers from paying doctors differently based on vaccination rates among their patients. In other words, insurance companies wouldn’t be allowed to include vaccination goals as a quality incentive in their quality-based payment programs.
Many insurers use these quality programs today. Doctors can receive small bonuses if they meet benchmarks for preventive care like cancer screenings, blood pressure control, and childhood vaccinations.
Vaccination rates are often included because vaccines are one of the most effective tools in public health. When vaccination rates are high, communities are protected from outbreaks of diseases like measles, whooping cough, and meningitis.
If vaccination goals disappear from quality programs, clinics may have fewer resources to support immunization efforts—things like reminder systems, outreach to families, and patient education. Over time, that could mean fewer kids getting the shots that protect them.
SB 1212 is likely to get through the House on a party line vote (it already passed the Senate) where it would likely meet Hobbs’ veto pen… so we’re in little danger of this becoming law – but it is a good example of how the legislature often goes through exercises in futility to make a point and to please their precinct committees.
