An investigation by The Defender revealed that one of the largest Medicaid plans in the U.S. offers parents hundreds of dollars in gift cards when their children get certain vaccines. Critics say the program is undermining informed consent by turning important medical decisions into financial ones for low-income families.
One of the largest Medicaid health plans in the U.S. is paying low-income parents hundreds of dollars in gift cards to vaccinate their children, an investigation by The Defender found.
Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) — which serves about 1.6 million people in Southern California — gives parents a $200 gift card when their baby receives a flu shot and the rotavirus series of shots by age 1, according to its 2025 Medi-Cal Member Incentive FAQs sent to all of IEHP’s general practitioners, family practitioners and pediatricians.
IEHP also gives a $50 gift card when a 12- or 13-year-old receives the first dose of the HPV vaccine, and an additional $150 gift card if the pre-teen completes the two- or three-dose series by age 13.
Karl Jablonowski, Ph.D., Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) senior research scientist, said IEHP is undermining true informed consent.
“An incentivized parent choosing vaccination is not medical decision-making — it’s economic decision-making,” he said. “In the case of low-income Medicaid families, that incentive may look more like an undue influence.”
The full scope of the IEHP’s vaccination incentive program is unclear.
