People associated with the far-right group America First attend an anti-vaccine protest in front of Pfizer world headquarters in New York City.
Illinois Representative Jonathan Carroll believes that people who choose to remain unvaccinated should be responsible for paying their hospital bills.
The Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook introduced legislation Monday that would amend the state's insurance code so that accident and health insurance policies would not cover hospital bills for people who choose to remain unvaccinated. The rule would not apply to people with medical conditions that prevent them from getting a vaccine.
The bill will face a lot of opposition. Federal law prevents insurers from denying coverage or increasing rates based on a change in a person's health status.
The proposed legislation is just a starting point to hold people who choose to go unvaccinated responsible for their decisions, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He said that the legislation represents the frustration felt by those who are following the science and trying to do the right thing in regards to people who choose not to get vaccinations.
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If you don't get vaccinations, you're also going to assume the risk of getting sick if you catch Covid, so it's time to say, "You choose not to get vaccinations, then you're also going to assume the risk of getting sick if you catch
Unvaccinated people account for the majority of people hospitalized with COVID-19, according to nationwide data. Around 60,000 people are hospitalized in the US every day. Many states are seeing health care systems overwhelmed, causing medical providers to ration care and delay non-urgent services.
The US is spending billions of dollars on hospital care for COVID-19 patients. Between June and August of 2021, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Peterson Center on healthcare found that preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations among unvaccinated adults cost over $5 billion. The average cost for a hospital stay is around $20,000.
