Health Department to Implement New Fees for Selected Services on March 1

By: Eric Nickens

Pregnancy tests and Tdap vaccine to be affected

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2010

 

Health Department to Implement New Fees for Selected Services on March 1
Pregnancy tests and Tdap vaccine to be affected

BURLINGTON – Effective March 1, 2010, the Alamance County Health Department (ACHD) will implement fees for pregnancy tests and Tdap vaccine.  A $10.00 fee will be charged for pregnancy tests and $47.00 for the Tdap vaccine.  These fees were approved by the Alamance County Board of Health at their February 16 meeting.

 

Pregnancy Tests

The fee for pregnancy tests is not entirely new.  Until approximately eight years ago, a $10.00 fee was charged for the test, when the fee was rescinded.   This fee increase is related to medical laboratory testing and cost of providing this service.  However, an ACHD patient receives a value-added service, in addition to the pregnancy test itself.  One-on-one counseling is provided to all patients receiving a pregnancy test.  Birth control methods, sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, and in the event of a positive test, options and resources related to prenatal care are discussed with the patient.

Tdap Vaccine

The new charge associated with the Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis) vaccine is one of the many repercussions of recent state budget cuts.  Until December 1, 2009, Tdap was provided through the North Carolina Immunization Program (NCIP) universally, to all children.  Due to the substantial reduction in state funding appropriations for the purchase of vaccines, the NCIP no longer has the funds necessary to supply the same vaccines that were provided in the past to all children.  Additionally, the NCIP was able to procure the Tdap vaccine from the manufacturer at significantly lower cost to local health departments, which are no longer able to capitalize on this cost savings and must incur higher costs to purchase the vaccine.

A patient must fall into one of three categories to qualify for free, state-supplied Tdap vaccine:

1. One dose of Tdap is available for post partum women seen at a local health department if no documentation of Tdap vaccine exists.   Post partum is considered less than six months after delivery.
 
2. One dose of Tdap is available for all children ages 10-18.  (Effective April 1, 2010)

3. One dose of Tdap can be given to any person of any age entering a North Carolina college or university for the first time, who has never received Tdap and Td (tetanus and diphtheria) is required by North Carolina Immunization law. (Effective April 1, 2010)

The Alamance County Health Department regrets the challenges that these changes may present to its patients and the public.  Anyone interested in receiving one of the services affected by the new fees is strongly encouraged to call (336) 227-0101 or stop by the health department for additional information.  The Alamance County Health Department is located on the 1st Floor of the Alamance County Human Services Center at 319 North Graham-Hopedale Road in Burlington.

# # A C H D # #

---