Should Parents Who Don’t Vaccinate Pay Higher Insurance Premiums?

[Annunakian]

via: https://www.parenting.com/blogs/sho...t-vaccinate-pay-higher-insurance-premi?cid=fb

Dr. Rahul K. Parikh wrote a provocative editorial for CNN today, proposing that parents who choose not to vaccinate should be obligated to pay higher insurance rates than those parents who do immunize. He cites research from a 2008 measles outbreak triggered by an unvaccinated child who contracted the disease in Europe. The child in turn exposed 839 people, passing measles on to 11 others, one of whom required hospitalization. The total cost to manage and treat this outbreak? $124,517.

Dr. Parikh writes:

“Refusing to vaccinate a child is dangerous not just for that child but for entire communities. It's precisely this point a colleague of mine was considering when he had the idea that parents who refuse to vaccinate their kids should pay substantially higher health insurance premiums.

It makes sense. Insurance, after all, is just a pool of money into which we all pay. In determining how much we or our employers pay, risk is taken into account.

The perfect analogy is smoking. If you smoke -- and want to turn your lungs black and spend a greater portion of that pot of money on your possible chronic lung disease or any cancers you'll get -- then you may have to pay more.”

Why shouldn't we impose the same logic on parents who refuse to vaccinate their children?”

Many parents who choose not to vaccinate wonder why it’s anyone else’s business. After all, if your child’s immunized, you don’t have anything to worry about, right? We address this confusion in our Vaccine FAQ:

“…vaccines aren't 100-percent effective; about 95 percent of the protection comes from the vaccine and the remaining protection comes from living in a community where there are low rates of the disease. So for vaccines to keep a disease in check, most people in a community need to be immunized, so they're not contracting and spreading the disease. This way, the few people that are not able to be vaccinated—say, a child sick with leukemia, or a newborn who hasn't had her shots—will hopefully be protected by what's called ‘herd’ or ‘community’ immunity.”

What do you think: should parents who opt out of immunizations be charged more for their family insurance? Or would such a move inappropriately take medical choices out of the hands of parents?

 

[freckleonear]

To turn the issue on it's head, should parents who DO vaccinate pay higher insurance premiums? There is the risk of reactions to the vaccines themselves as well as the risk of long-term medical conditions. Vaccinating and not vaccinating both have their own set of different risks. Unless they can quantify those risks and demonstrate the comparable medical costs, then I don't think it is fair to make parents who don't vaccinate pay more.

 

[Breezy]

I think paying a higher premium for not vaccinating is a wonderful idea!! Thank God you can't go to schools here without vaccinating

 

[Sarahkka]

Very interesting!
My first reaction was to say yes, as I am strongly in favour of vaccinations for myself and my family. I agree that we already pay higher premiums for other perceived risks (ie, lifestyle choices such as smoking and hereditary issues such as heart disease in the family history, for examples), so why not on this one?
Maybe I would rather that it was phrased a little differently, though. What if you got a vaccination discount? I much prefer policies to be built around incentives, rather than punishments.

 

[marley2580]

I think paying a higher premium for not vaccinating is a wonderful idea!! Thank God you can't go to public schools here without vaccinating

I'm pretty sure that's not true. My understanding is that you can get an exemption certificate base on your beliefs. I know that's what Mommyof3 has to do.

 

[Breezy]

I think paying a higher premium for not vaccinating is a wonderful idea!! Thank God you can't go to public schools here without vaccinating

I'm pretty sure that's not true. My understanding is that you can get an exemption certificate base on your beliefs. I know that's what Mommyof3 has to do.

In some places in the US that may be true.. I meant "here" as in here where I am- in the schools near me where my siblings go and where my children will go. There is no exemption- if you are not vaccinated you don't start school.

 

[SKATERBUN]

I think paying a higher premium for not vaccinating is a wonderful idea!! Thank God you can't go to public schools here without vaccinating

I'm pretty sure that's not true. My understanding is that you can get an exemption certificate base on your beliefs. I know that's what Mommyof3 has to do.

Think this is a US thing anyway (personal med insurance), we have NHS here anyway so irrelevant to us

I dont believe there is any state run nursery/school/college here who will exclude you for not having vacinations and Public schools will probably have their own individual rules.

 

[tallybee]

Both my children have been vaccinated. But I can say that at neither of the state run nurseries they have been in, nor the primary school, have mentioned vaccines ever. Not in the enrolment process or at any other time. So it's not possible for them to exclude anyone based on vaccination status since they simply do not have that information due to never asking.

 

[Bartness]

you can get exemptions in Minnesota. I've looked into it.

 

[Breezy]

you can get exemptions in Minnesota. I've looked into it.

I don't live in MN so I am not speaking specifically of MN- but at the school in MN that my brother and sister go to, totally different schools as one is in 1st grade, the other a senior in HS there is no exemption allowed. They have both HAD to keep there immunization records UTD.

But honestly, it is so irresponsible to just not vaccinate your children. The city I currently live in (we are military) just had a measles outbreak and SO many parents that made the choice to not vaccinate have now brought their children in to be vaccinated for MMR. The person that had the measles was unaware for WEEEKS and walking around with the general public. Why take that risk?

So, once again I am glad that the schools and daycare MY children will attend REQUIRE vaccinations- there is NO getting around it.

 

[Laura2919]

Here in the UK we have NHS so our healthcare for most is free but if we did have to pay then yes I think families who choose not to vaccinate their children should pay a higher premium, they are not just putting their own children at risk but the risk of another child who hasnt yet had the jabs.

 

[BlackBerry25]

Very interesting!
My first reaction was to say yes, as I am strongly in favour of vaccinations for myself and my family. I agree that we already pay higher premiums for other perceived risks (ie, lifestyle choices such as smoking and hereditary issues such as heart disease in the family history, for examples), so why not on this one?
Maybe I would rather that it was phrased a little differently, though. What if you got a vaccination discount? I much prefer policies to be built around incentives, rather than punishments.

Agree.