Bill to tax the flu shot

[Ringel05]

Looking for news links that aren't horribly partisan....

Just saw on the news there is a proposed 75 cent tax to be placed on the flue shot.

Note that all vaccines have this tax that goes into The Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund which covers vaccine-related injury or death claims for covered vaccines.

Supposedly the flu vaccine is already taxed but I haven't confirmed that yet.

Also the trust fund, like almost all of these trusts, are part of the general fund and therefore susceptible to "raiding".

 

[Michelle420]

Is the flu shot mandatory?

Is this tax on all vaccines?

 

[waltky]

Granny says it's a public health & safety issue...

Hospitals crack down on workers refusing flu shots
Jan 12,`13 -- Patients can refuse a flu shot. Should doctors and nurses have that right, too? That is the thorny question surfacing as U.S. hospitals increasingly crack down on employees who won't get flu shots, with some workers losing their jobs over their refusal.

"Where does it say that I am no longer a patient if I'm a nurse," wondered Carrie Calhoun, a longtime critical care nurse in suburban Chicago who was fired last month after she refused a flu shot. Hospitals' get-tougher measures coincide with an earlier-than-usual flu season hitting harder than in recent mild seasons. Flu is widespread in most states, and at least 20 children have died. Most doctors and nurses do get flu shots. But in the past two months, at least 15 nurses and other hospital staffers in four states have been fired for refusing, and several others have resigned, according to affected workers, hospital authorities and published reports. In Rhode Island, one of three states with tough penalties behind a mandatory vaccine policy for health care workers, more than 1,000 workers recently signed a petition opposing the policy, according to a labor union that has filed suit to end the regulation.

Why would people whose job is to protect sick patients refuse a flu shot? The reasons vary: allergies to flu vaccine, which are rare; religious objections; and skepticism about whether vaccinating health workers will prevent flu in patients. Dr. Carolyn Bridges, associate director for adult immunization at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says the strongest evidence is from studies in nursing homes, linking flu vaccination among health care workers with fewer patient deaths from all causes. "We would all like to see stronger data," she said. But other evidence shows flu vaccination "significantly decreases" flu cases, she said. "It should work the same in a health care worker versus somebody out in the community."

Cancer nurse Joyce Gingerich is among the skeptics and says her decision to avoid the shot is mostly "a personal thing." She's among seven employees at IU Health Goshen Hospital in northern Indiana who were recently fired for refusing flu shots. Gingerich said she gets other vaccinations but thinks it should be a choice. She opposes "the injustice of being forced to put something in my body." Medical ethicist Art Caplan says health care workers' ethical obligation to protect patients trumps their individual rights. "If you don't want to do it, you shouldn't work in that environment," said Caplan, medical ethics chief at New York University's Langone Medical Center. "Patients should demand that their health care provider gets flu shots - and they should ask them."

For some people, flu causes only mild symptoms. But it can also lead to pneumonia, and there are thousands of hospitalizations and deaths each year. The number of deaths has varied in recent decades from about 3,000 to 49,000. A survey by CDC researchers found that in 2011, more than 400 U.S. hospitals required flu vaccinations for their employees and 29 hospitals fired unvaccinated employees.

MORE

See also:

A snapshot of influenza activity in all 50 states
Jan 12,`13 Here is a snapshot of flu activity in all 50 states and the District of Columbia:

Alabama: Like many states, Alabama is having an earlier and busier flu season than a year ago - though not as bad as the 2009 pandemic. The state Department of Public Health doesn't tally statewide flu cases but emergency departments have been busy treating patients with flu symptoms. Hospitals have been able to handle the load without using tents or other unusual measures.

Alaska: Flu in Alaska is widespread and occurring throughout the state, though not at the high levels being reported in some other states. There is no vaccine shortage and no flu deaths have been reported in children.

Arizona: Flu cases are increasing in Arizona but authorities aren't calling it a worse-than-usual season so far. Plenty of vaccine remains. Like many states, Arizona only tallies flu deaths in children; none have been reported so far this season.

Arkansas: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that Arkansas is among a few states in the southeast in which flu cases spread less rapidly in the past week, but a state Health Department spokesman said it's too early to say cases have peaked there. Nine people have died from the flu so far in Arkansas, including one child.

MORE

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Looking for news links that aren't horribly partisan....

Just saw on the news there is a proposed 75 cent tax to be placed on the flue shot.

Note that all vaccines have this tax that goes into The Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund which covers vaccine-related injury or death claims for covered vaccines.

Supposedly the flu vaccine is already taxed but I haven't confirmed that yet.

Also the trust fund, like almost all of these trusts, are part of the general fund and therefore susceptible to "raiding".

Hilarious. The media has been running article all week complaining about how not enough people are getting flu shots and now you have the government wanting to tax it more.

 

[WillowTree]

Looking for news links that aren't horribly partisan....

Just saw on the news there is a proposed 75 cent tax to be placed on the flue shot.

Note that all vaccines have this tax that goes into The Vaccine Injury Compensation Trust Fund which covers vaccine-related injury or death claims for covered vaccines.

Supposedly the flu vaccine is already taxed but I haven't confirmed that yet.

Also the trust fund, like almost all of these trusts, are part of the general fund and therefore susceptible to "raiding".

Hilarious. The media has been running article all week complaining about how not enough people are getting flu shots and now you have the government wanting to tax it more.

demoncraps would tax your warts if they could.

 

[saveliberty]

Next they will want to tax 911 calls and collect before they respond.

 

[Ringel05]

Is the flu shot mandatory?

Is this tax on all vaccines?

No, except for some.

Yes

So?

 

[RoadVirus]

Next they will want to tax 911 calls and collect before they respond.

Don't go giving them ideas.

 

[uscitizen]

Don't we tax other medicines?

Seems like I pay a sales tax on medicines I buy.

 

[Katzndogz]

Next they will want to tax 911 calls and collect before they respond.

Don't go giving them ideas.

Some places already charge for 911 calls. It's tacked right onto your phone bill. It can be as much as $1,000 to call 911.

California City Not Alone In Charging For 911 Calls : NPR

 

[hjmick]

Is the flu shot mandatory?

Is this tax on all vaccines?

Not yet, but give it time...

 

[Wry Catcher]

My flu shot was free, as was my wife's and both (adult) sons and daughter-in-law. That's because we all have an HMO which understrands that a flu shot is cheaper then the alternative treatment when one comes down with the flu.

I notice that even supermarkets/drug stores are now 'giving' the flu shot at a cost of from $20 - $30 dollars. Corporate America never lets a crisis go by without figuring out a way to profit from same.

 

[skookerasbil]

Like Pelosi said........."We need to pass the bill to see whats in it!!!"


What would the Democrat party do without the masses of the uninformed??

 

[skookerasbil]