In most developed countries, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Canada, the costs for childhood immunization programs are covered by the national health insurance, as shown in the following table below:
| Country | Financing model |
| United Kingdom | Covered by the National Healthcare Service (NHS) |
| Japan | State and local tax subsidies, as well as covered by the national health insurance |
| Canada | Covered by the National Medical Insurance; free of charge to the public |
| France | Covered by the sécurité social (the National Health Insurance System) |
| Germany | Covered by the public health insurance |
The financing for immunization in the United States is a unique case. Children eligible to the Vaccine for Children Program (VFC) funded by the Federal Government. The eligibility requirements are1：
- Medicaid-eligible or Medicaid-enrolled children
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Underinsured children, defined as a child 1) who has health insurance but the coverage does not include vaccines; 2) whose health insurance covers only selected vaccines; 3) whose health insurance has a cap for vaccines.
In low-income countries, such as Cambodia, the cost of using combination vaccines is supported by the international organizations. According to the data of Cambodian Disease Control and Prevention Institute in 2014, 51.2% of the cost for Cambodian National Immunization Program are supported by Gavi, 45.1% from the Cambodian government, 2.9% by the World Health Organization, and 0.8% from other non-governmental organizations 2.
Some middle-income countries, such as Malaysia and Thailand, have already adopted a centralized financing model by the government. In Thailand, the Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budgets the expenditures by capitation. The procured vaccines are paid by the National Health Security Office (NHSO)3,4. In Malaysia, the Ministry of Health pays for the health expenditure and supervises the healthcare service and service providers. The MoH is also the main payer for all vaccines included in the national immunization program5.
Content Editor: Menglu Jiang
Page Editor: Ziqi Liu
References
- U.S. CDC. Vaccines for Children Program Operations Guide. https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines-for-children/media/pdfs/2024/08/vfc-ops-guide_version-4.0_july-2024_low-res-508-rev-2.pdf Accessed Sep. 15, 2024.
- Kingdom of Cambodia, Ministry of Health. Cambodia National Immunization Program Strategic Plan 2016-2020. http://cdc-crdb.gov.kh/en/twg-jmi/sector_strategy/NIPSP_2016_2020.pdf. Accessed Oct. 22, 2024.
- Tangcharoensathien V. et al. Thailand Universal Coverage Scheme. https://extranet.who.int/kobe_centre/sites/default/files/pdf/2_8_Case%20study_Thailand.pdf. Accessed Sep. 15, 2024.
- Coe, Martha and Jessica Gergen. August 2017. “Thailand Country Brief”. Sustainable Immunization Financing in Asia Pacific. Washington, DC: ThinkWell.
- Malaysia Health System Review. Health Systems in Transition Vol. 3 No.1 2013. https://iris.who.int/bitstream/handle/10665/206911/9789290615842_eng.pdf
