CA's partnership with Blue Shield aims to increase vaccinations

California has released its contract with Blue Shield of California outlining how the nonprofit health insurer will serve as the state's third-party administrator to build a vaccine network and increase the rate of allocation for doses. Vaccines will be sent directly to providers, and "real-time transparency" will show where the doses are and to whom they've been administered, according to the contract, which went into effect the beginning of this month. A release from the state said it chose to partner with Blue Shield "because of its robust network management expertise — its PPO network comprises 63,000+ physicians and 370-plus hospitals — and its experience as a health plan administrator for large employers, including large state accounts.