3 ms·

All in support of parent comment, though. I don't get the flu shot because I've had it once in about 10 years, and I hate getting shots. Sure, call me selfish,

All in support of parent comment, though. I don't get the flu shot because I've had it once in about 10 years, and I hate getting shots. Sure, call me selfish, but it's just not worth it for me. Now, if I have to go get it, or pay a $200 fine or something - yeah, I'll suck it up and go do it.

naasking 9y ago
> Now, if I have to go get it, or pay a $200 fine or something - yeah, I'll suck it up and go do it. In an ideal world, all those who opt out should have to pay the medical expenses of those who get sick. Not vaccinating is the same sort of negative externality as environmental pollution. Rather than making it a fine, a high opt-out fee could cover it without the stigma of "breaking the law".
- riot504 9y ago
  I don't get the shot and never will. Under your logic all those who eat fast food for lunch everyday and don't exercise should have to pay extra for medical insurance for not taking care of themselves.
  - CDRdude 9y ago
    I think they should pay more. However, it is harder to track than a yearly checkbox for if they had a flu shot.
  - osteele 9y ago
    What is the analogy between being too young or immunocompromised to receive the vaccine, and having poor diet and exercise habits?
  - kbenson 9y ago
    Some locations do charge a "health tax"[1] on certain food types and/or quantities of food. There are many ways to incentive/disincentivize behavior. 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_tax https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_tax
  - lovich 9y ago
    If we had universal healthcare I'd believe that would be an appropriate response. Much like you can turn your home into a garbage dump and live in that if you have acres of empty land around you, but you can't in a dense city you are allowed to destroy your body but not at everyone else's expense
  - naasking 9y ago
    > Under your logic all those who eat fast food for lunch everyday and don't exercise should have to pay extra for medical insurance for not taking care of themselves. Err, that's exactly what happens. Your premiums would definitely be higher if you live a riskier and less healthy lifestyle because you would require more costly health care at a younger age. And as another poster pointed out, we're now also coming around to the idea of disincentivizing poor food choices for the same reasons, like taxes on sugary drinks. So this is not "my logic", but in fact the prevailing logic of most people.

naasking 9y ago

> Now, if I have to go get it, or pay a $200 fine or something - yeah, I'll suck it up and go do it. In an ideal world, all those who opt out should have to pay the medical expenses of those who get sick. Not vaccinating is the same sort of negative externality as environmental pollution. Rather than making it a fine, a high opt-out fee could cover it without the stigma of "breaking the law".

riot504 9y ago
I don't get the shot and never will. Under your logic all those who eat fast food for lunch everyday and don't exercise should have to pay extra for medical insurance for not taking care of themselves.
- CDRdude 9y ago
  I think they should pay more. However, it is harder to track than a yearly checkbox for if they had a flu shot.
- osteele 9y ago
  What is the analogy between being too young or immunocompromised to receive the vaccine, and having poor diet and exercise habits?
- kbenson 9y ago
  Some locations do charge a "health tax"[1] on certain food types and/or quantities of food. There are many ways to incentive/disincentivize behavior. 1: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_tax https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fat_tax
- lovich 9y ago
  If we had universal healthcare I'd believe that would be an appropriate response. Much like you can turn your home into a garbage dump and live in that if you have acres of empty land around you, but you can't in a dense city you are allowed to destroy your body but not at everyone else's expense
- naasking 9y ago
  > Under your logic all those who eat fast food for lunch everyday and don't exercise should have to pay extra for medical insurance for not taking care of themselves. Err, that's exactly what happens. Your premiums would definitely be higher if you live a riskier and less healthy lifestyle because you would require more costly health care at a younger age. And as another poster pointed out, we're now also coming around to the idea of disincentivizing poor food choices for the same reasons, like taxes on sugary drinks. So this is not "my logic", but in fact the prevailing logic of most people.