[tryingagainbro]

>>the second dose could still grant immunity for life even if it is taken 5 years after the first dose. It is a super effective vaccine!

Why shouldn't USA--as in the FedGov--make such vaccines 100% free for everyone, a child or a 55 year old? An ounce of prevention and all....maybe subsidize them, pay cost only.

Personally I went to a private clinic and paid for them, but it was hundreds and hundreds. Not everyone can afford them and when you 80 million (or whatever) vaccines, the price can come down.

[zghst]

Usually children are heavily vaccinated, not adults. However, the costs of vaccines are usually covered by insurance. Additionally the federal gov't provides a program called CHIP that ensures millions of children (8.9 million kids covered 2016) in lower income households receive proper immunization.

[tryingagainbro]

That leaves or left a nice chunk out of it, the middle class (pre- Obama care at least). Also let's not forget that a lot of immigrants come in USA with patchy vaccination history.

[zghst]

Also if you look at the people who make up the uninsured, most uninsured are quite eligible for coverage either through an ACA tax cut, employer-sponsored insurance, or Medicaid eligibility.

The largest chunk of uninsured, based on a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, are "undocumented immigrants" with an estimated 5.4 million uninsured. The remainder of those who aren't able to obtain health insurance (not to be confused with health care, which any individual can obtain by going into an emergency room or free health clinic) have either a coverage gap (2.6 million) or their income is too high to obtain a subsidy (3.0 million).

[tryingagainbro]

"Most," "largest chunk" etc don't really work in real life. My idea was for the government to give free (essential) vaccines to everyone, no ID /questions asked. It makes $$ sense.

[zghst]

Legally, the government cannot give out vaccines with no questions asked, no ID. Every asset the government distributes must be accountable. We must keep a immunization record (usually in the patient's possession) of who and when, along with records on the health care provider's end for compliance.

Say someone experiences an adverse reaction to a vaccine (which does happen) and wants to sue the hospital; no questions asked means that the medical provider did not do a proper assessment of the patient, leaving that professional legally liable to damages.

[sp332]

That's interesting, and it's a good argument for the money to come from the government and not insurance companies. When it's a public health issue, you want make sure everyone is covered.

[zghst]

I definitely agree with you. I'm very much in favor of an optional single payer solution, consolidating the various programs down into one.

The issue is that doing so will put millions in the insurance industry out of work. It becomes more than a public health issue, and very much so that looks to eliminate a industry that has wide power to retaliate through various strategies.

Not to mention, single payer is a quite resource intensive strategy that will require extensive capital to start versus spending now for more coverage through a program.

Because of this, single payer may never come to America through federal means.

[zghst]

The middle class make up the majority of 155 million Americans covered by employer-based coverage. Immigrants that come into the country (legally) are required by law to have received or receive vaccinations listed by the gov't.

Health and preventing health issues is not the responsibility of the government, but individual.

[tryingagainbro]

Health and preventing health issues is not the responsibility of the government, but individual.

Sure, says who? USA takes "26 percent of gross domestic product" in taxes http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/briefing-book/how-do-us-taxes... , so the govt can't just take. And USA pays for liver transplants, disability and loss in productivity.

Not to mention that US made healthcare its business with Obamacare.

>>Immigrants that come into the country (legally) are required by law to have received or receive vaccinations listed by the gov't.

For $10 the Sudan (++++) authorities will give you any vaccination record the US Embassy requires

[zghst]

For my first point, I infer that you know your body and lifestyle best. Education exists to help people avoid preventable conditions (which are leading of health problems) and there isn't any reason why an individual should be compelled to seek the advice of a medical professional other than their own volition.

Sudan has recently experienced 15 deaths due to a botched vaccination. In countries like Sudan, workers may not be properly trained, there are less legal protections, and doctors are much more time-resource bound, leading to rushed care.

[pkaye]

When you immigrate to the US, there are vaccination requirements already.

[thinkcontext]

Hep A is on the ACA list of vaccines required to be covered w/o a co-pay, why did you have to pay?

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/adults/find-pay-vaccines.html

[maxerickson]

A significant portion of the country is ideologically opposed to the price fixing implied there. And not just people that identify as Republicans.

[zghst]

Price fixing is a criminal federal offense of the Sherman Act. Not only does it affect competing businesses, but it also limits the price of items much further down the line that have nothing to do with the original vaccine. A fixed cost on one item like a vaccine doesn't account for the needles, sanitary faculties, physicians, components of the vaccine, etc., all of which vary in cost.

Price fixing a vaccine, versus subsidizing it, would affect thousands of private businesses and spur a flurry of changes across the health care industry, first and foremost would strike anxiety into the market, driving up prices. Resources become inefficiently allocated for the vaccine because of legal requirements, instead of pressing patient needs.

I see many people who want healthcare fixed via government monopolization, but it is my best belief that healthcare stays private, with various government subsidies, especially post-investigation of the VA scandal by the Obama administration.

Private (non-profit) healthcare has more incentive to fight fraud, specialize in pathologies, appropriately allocate resources, and most importantly, provide excellent, aboveboard care.

[maxerickson]

In my comment it would be the government fixing the price, so I imagine they would write the law (the one providing 100% coverage of vaccines) to either comply with the Sherman Act or to be excepted from it.

The idea that the government would provide 100% coverage of vaccines without fixing prices is one that people are free to argue, meanwhile I will gesticulate wildly in the direction of Medicaid.

[thinkcontext]

What's significant? I'd be very surprised if it was a majority. Know of any polling?

[maxerickson]

Page 13 is vaguely informative:

https://www.kff.org/slideshow/public-opinion-on-prescription...