HB 524 would repeal the New Hampshire Vaccine Association. But what does the NHVA actually do?

Yahoo

27-02-2025

The NHVA is a nonprofit established by the Legislature in 2002 and is a universal vaccine purchasing program. (Photo courtesy of Executive Office of the Maryland Governor)
Next week, House Bill 524 will be heard by the New Hampshire House of Representatives. This bill would repeal and eliminate the New Hampshire Vaccine Association (NHVA), but it is important for our legislators and their constituents to know exactly what this might mean for the children and families of our state.
The NHVA is a nonprofit established by the Legislature in 2002 and is a universal vaccine purchasing program. This NHVA does not set vaccine policies or recommendations. Rather, this program allows the state to use a federal, contracted price list when purchasing vaccines.
While 'how' and 'for what price' vaccines are purchased by the state may seem like an unimportant detail, the NHVA allows the state to purchase vaccines at the lowest possible cost. This in turn allows Granite State families to get their children vaccinated for free, regardless of insurance coverage or income. Furthermore, the NHVA also saves New Hampshire millions of dollars each year by contributing $24 million annually to the state Department of Health and Human Services for vaccine purchases.
When we consider the rising costs of health care, it is no surprise that cost may factor heavily into which elements of care families feel that they can engage with. As a physician, I have encountered many patients who have felt compelled to delay or decline medical care, ration medications, or be otherwise unable to prioritize their health — all due to how much this care may cost. The NHVA, though, has ensured that families in New Hampshire have not needed to choose between purchasing necessities like groceries and the health and future of their children.
In projecting what our state might look like without the NHVA, it is important to have this context and this information about what the NHVA is — and what it is not. Eliminating the NHVA would not eliminate vaccines. Instead, it would increase the cost of vaccines for all Granite Staters. This cost would be passed on to physicians and clinics, insurance providers, and most importantly to families who wish to vaccinate their children.
The unintended consequences of eliminating the NHVA could be devastating.
New Hampshire has been among the top states in terms of percentage of children who have been vaccinated, and the free availability of vaccines due to the NHVA has been an important contributor to this. Without the universal purchasing program of the NHVA, vaccines would no longer be able to be purchased at the lowest possible price. In this scenario, Granite Staters with the lowest incomes would be disproportionately impacted. This would be unconscionable, because all children should be able to be protected against deadly preventable diseases, not just children raised in higher-income households. In the best-case scenario, childhood vaccinations become a privilege for wealthier families. Unfortunately, we are already seeing the worst-case scenario unfold in Texas, where an outbreak of measles, a disease that had once been eliminated in the U.S., has materialized.
The Granite State has been a great example of the benefits of removing barriers to care, and the NHVA has been a large part of this success. Eliminating the NHVA would not eliminate vaccines, or even change policies relating to vaccines. This would, however, take the option out of the hands of lower-income families who would otherwise be able to vaccinate their children for free.
With so many barriers already making health care hard enough to access, it would be unacceptable to add more barriers in an area where our state has seen success. Thus, it is important to know what the NHVA actually does, and that without them, our children would suffer the most.