Child with bandaid after receiving immunization

Vaccines for children (VFC) provider information

The Vaccines for Children (VFC) program is a federally-funded program in the United States that provides vaccines to children who might not otherwise be vaccinated due to an inability to pay. The program aims to ensure that all eligible children from birth through 18 years of age have access to the full range of vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), which protects against numerous preventable diseases.

What are the benefits of enrolling my practice in the VFC program?

As a healthcare provider, enrolling in the VFC program offers significant benefits for your practice and your patients:
- Reduces upfront costs: The VFC program provides all ACIP-recommended vaccines at no cost to the provider. This eliminates the need for your practice to purchase expensive vaccines for eligible children, which can be a significant financial burden.
- No cost to participate: There is no cost to enroll and participate in the VFC program.
- Keeps patients in their "medical home:" By being a VFC provider, you can administer vaccines to all your patients, regardless of their ability to pay. This prevents you from having to refer uninsured or underinsured children to other clinics or public health departments for their immunizations, which helps maintain continuity of care and strengthens the patient-provider relationship.
- Provides quality care for vulnerable children: The program ensures that your most vulnerable patients have access to life-saving vaccines to protect them from serious diseases. This is a crucial component of public health and helps improve immunization rates in your community.
- Allows for administration fees: While you cannot charge for the VFC-supplied vaccine itself, you are permitted to charge a reasonable administrative fee to offset your practice's costs. However, you cannot deny a child a vaccine if the family is unable to pay the administration fee.
- Access to resources and support: Enrolled providers receive technical assistance, training, and support from their state immunization programs. Each clinic has a designated provider relations representative. The CDC also offers resources to help providers improve their vaccination rates through programs like the Immunization Quality Improvement for Providers (IQIP).

VFC listserv

Register for the Vaccines for Children program listserv to stay current on immunization information. This listserv is designed for VFC providers to share information about topics such as: vaccine orders, shortages, recalls, shipment schedules, flu vaccine notices, report due dates, updates from the vaccine distributor, updates to policies, procedures, and forms, etc. Send an email to [email protected]opens in a new tab with the subject “Request VFC Listserv Access” to request access to the VFC listserv.

Provider enrollment

Complete the Provider profile and enrollment formopens in a new tab and email to [email protected].
A Utah VFC Program representative will schedule a training session for you and your office staff once enrollment is complete. The training includes all aspects of the Utah VFC Program.

Available vaccines

The VFC program provides all ACIP recommended vaccines.

What children are eligible?

All children birth through 18 years of age who are:

Enrolled in Medicaid
Enrolled in Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
American Indian/Alaskan Native
Without health insurance
Under-insured* (insurance doesn’t cover immunizations)

*Under-insured children may receive VFC-supplied vaccines only at federally qualified health centers (FQHC) or Medicare certified rural health centers (RHC).

VFC providers (local health departments and private providers) can vaccinate under-insured patients with their own privately-purchased vaccine and follow their clinic policies to collect payment.

Frequently asked questions

Children whose health insurance plan does not include vaccine as a covered medical service, provides coverage for only selected vaccines, or caps vaccine coverage at an annual limit after which there is no vaccine coverage for the rest of the year. Under-insured children can only get VFC-supplied vaccine in a federally qualified health center or rural health center (FQHC/RHC). VFC providers (local health departments and private providers) can vaccinate under-insured patients with their own privately-purchased vaccine and follow their clinic policies to collect payment. Click here for more information about VFC eligibility.

Children who are covered by a health insurance plan, regardless of vaccine coverage, are considered insured or under-insured. They cannot be considered uninsured for the purpose of obtaining VFC-supplied vaccine. There just aren’t enough doses of vaccine in the VFC program to allow that to happen, and, more importantly, it is considered fraud and abuse of the program. Facilities suspected of this practice may be referred to Medicaid Program Integrity.

VFC is a federal program and healthcare providers whose facility/practice is located in Utah should enroll with the Utah VFC Program and receive vaccine from Utah. Providers may vaccinate any child who is eligible for VFC vaccine in their practice regardless of the patient’s state of residence. Providers are encouraged to enroll in each state’s Medicaid program in order to bill the patient’s Medicaid state for the administration fee. Each state establishes their own administration fee.

Access VFC Forms & Training Material