December 5-11, 2010 is National Influenza Vaccination Week. This national health observance was established to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination, as well as fostering greater use of the flu vaccine after the holiday season and into January and beyond. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) needs your help to ensure that people with Medicare get their flu vaccine. National Influenza Vaccination Week presents an excellent opportunity for you to place greater emphasis on flu prevention.
This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is encouraging everyone 6 months of age and older to get vaccinated against the seasonal flu. During NIVW CDC has designated the following special days: * Monday, December 6 is "Family Vaccination Day" * Tuesday, December 7 is "Chronic Conditions Day" * Wednesday, December 8 is "Employee Health Day" * Thursday, December 9 is "Older Adults Vaccination Day" * Friday, December 10 is "Young Adults Vaccination Day" Please use these designated days to encourage family members, seniors and your staff to get their seasonal flu vaccine. Remember, Medicare pays for the seasonal flu vaccine and its administration for all beneficiaries with no co-pay or deductible. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. For more information about NIVW, please visit http://www.cdc.gov/flu/nivw/. For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit the following CMS websites http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Flu_Products.pdf and http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November Flu Shot Reminder Each Office Visit is an Opportunity. Medicare patients give many reasons for not getting their annual flu vaccination, but the fact is that there are 36,000 flu-related deaths in the United States each year, on average. More than 90% of these deaths occur in people 65 years of age and older. Please talk with your Medicare patients about the importance of getting their annual flu vaccination. This Medicare-covered preventive service will protect them for the entire flu season. And remember, vaccination is important for health care workers too, who may spread the flu to high risk patients. Don't forget to immunize yourself and your staff. Protect your patients. Protect your family. Protect yourself. Get Your Flu Vaccine - Not the Flu. Remember - Influenza vaccine plus its administration are covered Part B benefits. Note that influenza vaccine is NOT a Part D covered drug. For information about Medicare's coverage of the influenza vaccine and its administration, as well as related educational resources for health care professionals and their staff, please visit the following CMS websites http://www.cms.gov/MLNProducts/Downloads/Flu_Products.pdf and http://www.cms.gov/AdultImmunizations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note: If you have problems accessing any hyperlink in this message, please copy and paste the URL into your Internet browser. Please DO NOT respond to this email. This email is a service of CMS and routed through an electronic mail server to communicate Medicare policy and operational changes and/or updates. Responses to this email are not routed to CMS personnel. Inquiries may be sent by going to (http://www.cms.gov/ContactCMS). Thank you. If you know someone who would like to subscribe to a Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS) provider listserv, go to (http://www.cms.gov/prospmedicarefeesvcpmtgen/downloads/Provider_Listservs.pdf). If you would like to unsubscribe from a specific provider listserv, please go to (https://list.nih.gov/cgi-bin/wa.exe?INDEX) to unsubscribe or to leave the appropriate listserv.
