“Doctors promote vaccine administration for profit, not for evaluating effectiveness,” said the US Secretary of Health, Robert F. Kennedy, in a recent video. He stated that they are pressured to follow money, not science.
In the United States, many children are administered dozens of vaccines. Additionally, adults are also advised to receive multiple vaccines.
Reviews of multiple studies indicate that some doctors do indeed profit from vaccine administration.
In a 2020 paper, researchers analyzed three years of vaccine reimbursement records from five clinics in Colorado. The results showed that the average reimbursement amount was 125% of the vaccine cost, making providing vaccines economically beneficial in these clinics overall.
Another study in 2019 found that various medical facilities in North Carolina profit from administering vaccines to patients, whether they receive the highest reimbursement from insurance companies or the government. Even in cases of receiving the lowest reimbursement, pediatric and family medicine clinics still reported positive earnings.
On the other hand, some doctors point out that the cost of administering certain vaccines to specific populations exceeds the reimbursement amount they receive.
For example, based on a 2009 study, a survey of 34 pediatricians indicated that over half of them stated that administering vaccines did not bring profits.
Some practicing doctors also mentioned facing continuously rising associated costs with vaccine administration, including personnel expenses, leading them to consider stopping or ceasing to provide vaccine administration services to patients with private insurance.
Reimbursement amounts for vaccine administration vary depending on whether patients have private or public insurance. In a program called the “Vaccines for Children,” the government provides vaccines to doctors for free, but does not cover the costs associated with administration. However, doctors can charge a vaccination fee to patients. The CDC states that this fee “helps healthcare providers offset operational costs,” with the maximum amount varying by state regulations.
According to Brian Hooker, a senior scientist at the Children’s Health Defense organization (of which Kennedy served as chairman until 2023), and other witnesses at a vaccine hearing held by Senator Ron Johnson in July, doctors can earn additional income through incentive programs provided by insurance companies for administering vaccines.
“Some pediatricians can make millions or more annually solely from these incentive policies,” Hooker mentioned.
When asked to provide evidence, Hooker provided documents he collected from insurance companies to the Epoch Times, listing out bonus programs available.
Here is a summary of related incentives from different insurance companies:
• Blue Cross Blue Shield Blue Care Network of Michigan: Doctors can receive a $400 incentive for each child who completes 24 or 25 doses of vaccines before two years old.
• Aetna Better Health of Louisiana: Depending on clinics’ overall COVID-19 vaccine coverage, a reward range of $10–25 per member is available.
• Molina Healthcare of Ohio: A $100 incentive is given for each patient who completes receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.
• Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Medicaid: Doctors can receive a $50 incentive per person aged six months and above who completes the COVID-19 vaccine by December 31, 2022.
• United Healthcare Community Plan of Michigan: Rewards are provided for timely completion of meningitis, Tdap, and HPV vaccines for patients under 13.
• Meridian: For each child who completes 24 or 25 vaccine doses before two years old, or for teens who complete three specific vaccine doses before 13, doctors can earn up to $120 per patient, with a maximum reward cap of $9,600 per category.
These vaccine combinations covered by these incentives are recommended by the CDC.
On the other hand, Paul Thomas, a physician who operated a pediatric clinic in Oregon, estimated in a 2021 study that he incurred over $1 million in losses annually due to providing so-called informed consent to parents, elaborating on the benefits and risks of recommended vaccines in detail.
Thomas voluntarily surrendered his license in 2022 as the Oregon Medical Board deemed his alternative vaccine administration scheme risky to the public. In an email to the Epoch Times, he mentioned that due to administering far fewer vaccines at his clinic compared to most others, he had to double his work, freeze staff salaries, and charge administrative fees to each patient to offset losses. Thomas claimed he was unfairly targeted, but the court rejected his claims, ruling that the medical board had “absolute immunity.”
“If pediatric clinics suddenly lose half or all of the vaccine income, not to mention losing critical incentive mechanisms, the existing pediatric clinics are almost unable to survive,” Thomas stated.
Dr. Renata Moon, a board member of the American College of Pediatricians, expressed her concerns over doctors receiving bonuses or financial incentives for promoting pharmaceutical company products. She stressed that it is a huge conflict of interest, questioning whether doctors are prioritizing the best interests of patients or their own bank accounts.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and some other groups and doctors argue that doctors are not motivated by money when administering vaccines to patients.
In a post on July 16th, the AAP wrote, “Pediatricians do not profit from vaccine administration.”
The organization declined to arrange for its experts to be interviewed on this topic. When presented with multiple studies (including several articles published by AAP’s journal Pediatrics) showing that some pediatric doctors do indeed earn income through vaccine administration, they merely referenced a statement on the AAP website: “Pediatricians recommend childhood vaccines as they are one of the most effective tools to maintain children’s health and prevent disease spread in the community.”
The statement also mentioned that pediatricians often bear the high costs required for providing vaccine administration to patients, and the minimum compensation they receive usually does not fully cover these expenses.
The costs listed by the organization include: purchasing vaccines and storing vaccines.
Dr. Todd Porter, a pediatrician working in a multi-disciplinary institution in Illinois, stated that he does not focus on whether he is making a profit from administering vaccines to children.
In an email to the Epoch Times, Porter mentioned, “Although I no longer support AAP on almost all other matters, I have to surprisingly side with AAP on this. As a pediatrician, my recommendations for routine childhood vaccines have nothing to do with any reimbursements my clinic might get, and I can honestly say I have no actual knowledge of these reimbursement amounts.”
Porter stated that for over two decades as a doctor, his motivation has been to provide vaccines in order to minimize the occurrence of preventable diseases. He has never recommended the COVID-19 vaccine and believes that the CDC and AAP have not provided enough detail to explain the risks and benefits of these vaccines.
He wrote, “I am somewhat uncertain about the risk/benefit of each vaccine. I still recommend routine childhood vaccines that have been used in the past, but given the increasing concerns of children’s parents about vaccine administration, I do not press them strongly. At the same time, I have basically stopped recommending the flu vaccine unless more rigorous data prove its actual effectiveness.”
In recent years, vaccination rates for kindergarten children have declined. A recent survey showed that one-third of parents say they would refuse to have their children vaccinated partially or fully.
Kennedy has repeatedly mentioned the reward issue of vaccine administration. In an interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson in June, he referred to an article stating that half of a pediatrician’s income comes from vaccines on average.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment on the article cited during the interview.
Kennedy mentioned, “In addition, there is a whole set of incentive mechanisms, where insurance companies like Blue Cross pay bonuses to pediatricians… That’s why if you tell your pediatrician, ‘I want to slow down on vaccines’ or ‘I want to follow a different vaccination schedule,’ your pediatrician might kick you out of the clinic because you endanger their bonus income. These are distorted incentive measures that prevent doctors from practicing medicine and caring for patients genuinely because they are only focused on pursuing profits.”
In a video released on X platform on August 8th, Kennedy supplemented by saying, “We are monitoring every corner of the healthcare system, looking for hidden incentive mechanisms that corrode medical judgment,” and pointed out that investigators found “doctors are administering vaccines for profit, not to evaluate conditions.”
He stated that investigators found that over 36,000 Medicare reimbursements for doctors were being adjusted based on the child vaccine administration rates in their clinics.
Upon the video’s release, Kennedy announced that his department was abolishing a previous policy that was biased toward hospitals that reported employee vaccine administration rates.
Kennedy stated, “Doctors should follow their medical judgment and the Hippocratic Oath, not be driven by financial incentives or government mandates. This is the significance of this policy change and it’s just the beginning.”
Research discussing whether doctors make a profit from administering vaccines is as follows.
In 1995, a three-year study found that peer review, feedback mechanisms, and financial incentives increased the number of medical clinics meeting the standards for measles, mumps, and rubella vaccination.
In 1998, a small financial incentive measure (either $0.80 or $1.60 per dose) led to increased influenza vaccine administration rates in primary care physician practices in New York.
In 1999, financial incentives and feedback mechanisms led to higher vaccine administration rates in Medicaid health maintenance organizations (HMOs).
Bonus systems increased vaccination coverage in medical records, with researchers stating that this growth was mainly due to better record-keeping.
In 2001, a review of documentation from 13 clinics in Colorado revealed that the average net revenue vaccination fell below the total cost for most vaccines. The total cost included tasks such as ordering vaccines and related operational staff work.
Bonuses and fee hikes led to increased vaccination rates among urban children. Researchers noted, “The relevant increase primarily due to better record-keeping rather than improved vaccination practices,” while stating, “Actual vaccine administration coverage was much higher than indicated by medical records.”
In 2004, a study in Colorado found that the total fixed cost per vaccine dose was $10.67 for pediatric clinics and $7.57 for family medicine clinics. On average, medical facilities received reimbursement amounts lower than the actual costs.
In 2005, a CDC study showed that childhood vaccination programs led to direct cost savings and societal cost savings.
According to a modeling paper, doctors administering flu vaccines to adults may lose up to $34.56 per shot.
In 2008, about half of pediatricians and family doctors surveyed reported a decrease in their vaccine administration profit margins in recent years. Around one in ten doctors admitted that they had seriously considered ceasing to provide full vaccine services to children with private insurance due to cost issues.
In 2009, a review of records from five clinics across five states showed that the average net profit per vaccine dose (vaccine procurement reimbursement amount minus the actual cost per dose) ranged from $3 to over $24. Taking into account the time spent by nurses administering vaccines, the average total cost per dose of a vaccine reached $11.51. In some cases, variable costs exceeded the reimbursement amount.
In a survey of 34 pediatricians, over half of the doctors said administering vaccines either only helped maintain balance between revenue and expenses or resulted in losses. On average, administering vaccines to patients with private insurance did not cover related costs unless children received at least three vaccine doses during a single visit.
Researchers estimated the total cost of each flu vaccine dose administered to children in New York ranged from $28.62 to $45.28, with the reimbursement amounts from Medicaid lower than the cost.
In 2010, researchers suggested that providing doctors with a $200 bonus for every 2-year-old child who completed full vaccine administration moderately increased vaccine administration rates. This indicates that performance reward programs combined with administrative support can effectively promote childhood vaccination rates.
In 2011, a survey of Virginia healthcare providers found that concerns about reimbursement issues may lead doctors to reduce their recommendation for the HPV vaccine.
Few doctors stock all the recommended adult vaccines.
In 2014, in a survey of doctors, many expressed dissatisfaction with the incentives for vaccine administration. 10% of doctors claimed that due to cost issues, they had considered no longer providing full childhood vaccine services.
Some doctors reported facing financial problems, such as inadequate reimbursement amounts when reserving and administering vaccines for adults.
Medicaid programs have been expanding coverage for adult vaccination.
In 2015, according to a survey, one in five pediatricians stated that they had removed families from their patient list for refusing one or more doses of vaccines for their children.
In 2016, a study on the implementation of performance-based payment plans for Medicaid showed no impact on completing childhood vaccinations for 19 to 35 months old; however, these plans did increase the probability of these children receiving a full set of vaccinations at 19 to 23 months.
A retrospective study in 2016 indicated that financial incentive measures increased some vaccine administration indicators.
Some doctors reported that they do not recommend vaccines to adults because they believe insurance will not reimburse for this.
Achieving a benchmark of “product loyalty,” through signing vaccine procurement group agreements with manufacturers, can lead to vaccine price discounts.
In 2017, sending reminders to parents of children who were overdue or due for vaccination could bring thousands of dollars to clinics after deducting costs.
A government-funded evaluation found that there was no consistent relationship between performance-based pay programs and health improvements.
In a survey of 221 respondents, most said the reimbursement they received for vaccine purchases was at least 100% of the vaccine procurement price. Some doctors said their profit margin had increased over the past three years, while others reported a decrease.
In 2018, half of the providers offering medical services to adults mentioned they earned profit by administering flu vaccines.
Among pediatricians surveyed, most indicated they had experience receiving payment for specific medical services, with about one-third believing these payments had a positive impact.
In 2019, a randomized clinical trial showed that higher bonuses were positively correlated with better medical quality.
According to a CDC study, the reimbursement doctors receive for administering vaccines to adults with private insurance is “sufficient for most private clinics.”
Medical providers in North Carolina reported that the highest vaccine administration payments led to profits. Even with just the lowest payment, pediatric and family clinics could generate positive revenue.
An analysis of profits from 13 private clinics revealed that the median annual total net income from vaccine administration was $90,343 for family medicine clinics, $28,267 for internal medicine clinics, and $2,886 for obstetrics and gynecology clinics. A systemic review found that in nine studies, eight showed that additional rewards increased vaccine administration rates.
In 2020, researchers indicated that after analyzing data from five clinics over three years, the vaccine administration program was “profitable financially.”
According to a literature review, cases of families being denied service by clinics for refusing vaccine administration appeared to be on the rise.
A paper released by the American Academy of Pediatrics stated, “The rewards of vaccine administration are an important source of income for pediatric clinics.”
In 2021, a pediatrician in Oregon estimated that a mid-sized clinic could earn significant profits each year by administering vaccines to children.
In 2025, clinic staff’s enthusiasm for administering the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine responds more positively when receiving a $5,000 incentive compared to a $1,000 incentive.
Translated and summarized from the original article published in the Epoch Times.