Kids' Medicaid-covered flu shots put docs at a loss: study

Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) looked at U.S. flu immunization rates for children between the ages of 6 months and 23 months during the 2005-2006, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 flu seasons, and found that states with lower Medicaid reimbursement rates had lower vaccination rates.

Reimbursement rates ranged from $2 in Colorado, Connecticut and Hawaii to almost $18 in New York, with the average reimbursement rate $9. In a previous study, the researchers had calculated that the actual cost to doctors' offices for administering a vaccine was $20.