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Tuesday, July 27, 2021

Should Health Insurers Link Coverage to Vaccines?

I oppose making vaccines mandatory. But instead of offering cash incentives, those who refuse should pay the price. A nurse case manager in Salt Lake City has suggested that health insurance providers should link coverage to the vaccine. "If you choose not to be part of the solution, then you should be accountable for the consequences," she told The New York Times.  

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Alcohol, Cigarettes, heroin, Meth, Fried Foods, Sugary drinks, ..................

Anonymous said...

Except that the Nuremberg Codes prohibit coercion in the administration of experimental drugs, and the vaccines are approved only on an emergency basis and lack long-term testing.

It would seem the know-it-all-nurse should brush up on her history. So should vax fetishists who repeat her nonsense.

Anonymous said...

i agree 100% if you don't want the vaccine and you get sick, bye bye

Anonymous said...

the totalitarians are revealed.

Anonymous said...

It is claimed that most of those unvaccinated are Trump supporters. I thought everyone wants to get rid of them anyway.

Anonymous said...

@8:38: your lack of education is obvious!
Personal choices vs global pandemic of an airborne virus that has killed over 600,000 American lives.

Bernie O'Hare said...

8:46, This has nothing to do with governmental coercion. It is simply a business decision. No medical insurer, which are private entities, should be forced to pay for medical costs incurred by someone who contracts Covid and who has refused a vaccine. Medicare and Medicaid, which are public entities, should also refuse. The government is coercing nothing. It is giving individuals the freedom to choose to accept responsibility for their foolish decisions.

Anonymous said...

Anyway, don't most "hesitants" think that COVID isn't real? So why should they protest about such a policy?

Anonymous said...

I'm holding out until they offer the 85 inch Smart TV's as an incentive...

Anonymous said...

One of the planks of Obamacare was to level out health insurance premiums - for example, someone who is morbidly obese pays the same health insurance premium as someone who is healthy. The only "banding" is by age.

Assuming that the morbidly obese person is making that choice (no underlying medical issues that prevent a good diet and exercise), then under your premise here, that person should pay more for coverage.

I agree with you, and would love to see this across the board.

Hold people accountable for their choices. That would be an incredible breath of fresh air.

Anonymous said...

Would this also apply to aids patients who engage in risky behaviour?

Anonymous said...

It will happen. Insurance companies will increase rates on the unvaccinated at some point. Fetishists or not. Its simple capitalism.

We all pay insurance premiums and those premiums are based on risk. Car insurance premiums vary on who you are, how old you are and what sort of car you are driving. Homeowners is the same, how big is your home, where is it located, what sort of weather hazards are prevalent in that area.

Health insurance is the same - if you don't take care of yourself, if you have pre existing conditions that signal a higher chance of medical care and hospital stays, then you will be expected to pay higher premiums. End of story.

If you are against insurance companies raising rates on the unvaccinated then you are a full blown socialist.

Anonymous said...

Why not? I pay higher premiums as a diver and a pilot. My only vice is reading this blog.

Anonymous said...

9:45

The Nuremberg Codes make no distinction between government coercion and private sector coercion. The reason they quite purposely don't was because companies like Bayer were deeply involved in the unethical (to say the least) experimentation in the concentration camps as nothing more than an extension of the Nazi regime. For that reason, Nuremberg applies to insurance companies to the same degree as any other entity.

And your language is propagandist. Dr. Mengele would have been proud. No one has refused a vaccine. They have declined an experimental drug cleared only for emergency use and without long-term testing.

Bernie O'Hare said...

The Nuremberg Code argument is a typical red herring disposed of here: https://fullfact.org/health/nuremberg-code-covid/

Anonymous said...

America is going to hell

Anonymous said...

12:39 - So how long is long term testing? Your argument reeks of politics.

If confronted with your own mortality, and offered an experimental treatment, you wouldn't hesitate.

Anonymous said...

This won't happen. Health Insurance companies would have all kinds of legal issues with the American Disability Act (ADA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA/Obama Care) if they tried. However life insurance companies could take vaccine status into account and charge higher premiums for unvaccinated people.

Anonymous said...

One problem is that the states with the low vax rates tend to have a higher rate of people without health insurance
try
https://factsmaps.com/population-not-covered-health-insurance-us-states/
Or tie vaccination to your tax return--no vax you pay tax.
perhaps you lose your personal tax exemption?
Australia had good results with
https://www.aph.gov.au/about_parliament/parliamentary_departments/parliamentary_library/pubs/rp/budgetreview201516/vaccination

Anonymous said...

Another option
fix two problems at once.
No airplane flight for non vax folks.
State combines the enhanced driver license with proof of vaccination along with passports.
Same for voter id.
State picks up the costs and has a vested reason in making sure anyone who wants to vote can do so.

Anonymous said...

8:46

Do you also want to deny healthcare to illegal aliens, or only to unvaccinated American citizens? How 'bout junkies? How 'bout promiscuous AIDS carriers and their partners?

Anonymous said...

A couple of weeks ago, the Morning Call had a front page article on the low rate of vaccination among Allentown's Hispanic population. I believe vaccination rates among African Americans are also lower. Do these fine liberals want to raise those insurance premiums?

Hmmm. let's see what else we can come up with. Oh, I know, let's sterilize everyone that insists on having more children than they can afford to raise. Yeah! That's the ticket! (In case there are some particularly dense readers, yes this is sarcasm.)

Bernie O'Hare said...

Vaccine hesitancy exists mostly among the young and Republican. As I indicated, I would make things very difficult for the antivaxers, regardless of race or ethnicity.

Bernie O'Hare said...

The vaccine is not experimental. It is approved for emergency use and lacks full approval, but it is no experimental vaccine.

Anonymous said...

Just hearing the comments from the conformists who sound like they would use any force they could to bring conformity to the population is just more affirmation that this country has no peaceful future.

Anonymous said...

AIDS carriers should certainly be identified and identifiable. They may directly cause death. Their threat is far more direct than idiots who won't get their shots. We should also be vaccinating every person who comes across the border as a requirement of admission. Public health threats should be identified and segregated in some way to protect the socially responsible. I'm not opposed to BMI requirements and penalties for the overweight re: airline tickets, health insurance, etc. Obesity is our chief health problem and it's time to get serious with those who won't take their health and our healthcare system seriously.

Anonymous said...

@2:45 - not completely true, the ADA/ACA coverage issues you're referring to are "pre-existing conditions" where carriers could decline enrollment in a program or price the policy in such a way to essentially do the same. Declining a vaccine would not fall under that as the patient has opted out of a preventative measure for a potential future event.

Anonymous said...

@4:23 - I do like the idea of banning non vaccinated from airports. There should be a cost for ones convictions.

Anonymous said...

37 states have criminalized aids/hiv and other forms of communicable diseases. Why shouldn't those same states apply those same rules to COVID. Oh yeah that is right HIV and Aids is considered a bad conduct from bad people. And COVId is a right for conservatives to not adhere to. So why not be hypocritical in the way you apply llgic.

peterjcochran said...

COVID clues found in waist water . Article in Wall Street Journal, Monday ,July 26th page A5- Brianna Abbott reports,COVID is detected early in dorms ,then students individually tested to pick up on infections early. Apparently this method used around the world to test for polio virus..Michigan State University’s Joan Rose , a water microbiology and public health expert started taking samples on March 2020. Apparently Virus levels rise in waist water before an outbreak is detected otherwise. Is caption.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Fake “Warrior”, I refuse to publish your lies.

Bernie O'Hare said...

fake “warrior” , I am perfectly willing to post opposing points of view. What I am unwilling to do is waste my time publishing what you yourself must know are lies and then having to waste more time to refute them while you continue to go down the rabbit hole. You submitted lies. I refuse to publish

Anonymous said...

This isn't really interesting anymore since Bernie decided to censor any data-driven points of view that broke from the official state-sponsored narrative. Like 99.96%.

Too bad. He really used to perform a very valuable public service before becoming a COVID fetishist.