CMS will end the federal requirement for states to report childhood vaccination levels.

In a Dec. 30 letter, CMS told states they are no longer required to report childhood immunization rates for Medicaid and CHIP; states may still provide the data voluntarily.

CMS notified state health officials in a December 30 letter that states will no longer be required to report the percentage of children covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program who are immunized. The reporting had been used as a quality measure for care in those programs. About 40% of U.S. children are covered by Medicaid, and tracking these data has been one way to spot gaps in vaccine access. The announcement comes alongside other federal actions affecting vaccine policy and recommendations. Key details: - The CMS letter said states are no longer required to report childhood immunization rates for Medicaid and CHIP enrollees. - States may continue to submit the information voluntarily so CMS can maintain a longitudinal dataset while it explores other measures. - CMS said it will explore new vaccine measures that capture whether parents and families were informed about vaccine choices, vaccine safety and side effects, and alternative vaccine schedules. - The letter states CMS does not tie payment to immunization quality measures at the federal level and "strongly discourages" states from basing payment on immunization levels. - Public health experts cited in coverage said that reducing mandated reporting could make it harder to identify gaps in vaccination coverage; Joshua M. Sharfstein said it would become harder to understand gaps that leave communities exposed to outbreaks. - The reporting change is described alongside other recent federal moves, including a memo about altering the U.S. child immunization schedule to more closely resemble Denmark’s and a CDC change to the newborn hepatitis B recommendation. Summary: The policy removes a federal reporting requirement for childhood vaccination rates in Medicaid and CHIP while allowing states to share data voluntarily. CMS plans to explore alternative measures focused on family information and informed consent, and public health experts say reduced mandatory reporting may make it harder to identify gaps in coverage.