From: stephen@sprunk.org

On 27-Apr-15 08:36, Adam H. Kerman wrote:
> Mandatory health coverage in the United States, like Medicare, has
> nothing to do with preventing the spread of infectious disease.
> Vaccinating the elderly doesn't do anything because they tend not to
> be patient zero with regard to the most infectious diseases. It's
> children. And our society isn't even enforcing mandatory vaccination
> laws with respect to the most basic vaccinations.

The laws allow exceptions, on the assumption not enough people would
take advantage of them to affect herd immunity.  Thanks largely to
hysteria caused by Jenny McCarthy, that assumption was wrong.  But the
law _is_ being enforced as written, even if not as intended.

> Obamacare is largely about a mechanism to get hospital bills paid,
> not about preventing the spread of infection and would be a lousy way
> to achieve that.

Well, if someone didn't get their kid vaccinated because they couldn't
afford it, then universal coverage (the main goal of Obamacare) is a
good solution.  One can't show up at the ER and get free vaccinations,
like one can for an actual case of measles.

But that's not the actual problem in this case; these parents _did_ have
access to vaccines and chose not to get them anyway.

S

--
Stephen Sprunk         "God does not play dice."  --Albert Einstein
CCIE #3723         "God is an inveterate gambler, and He throws the
K5SSS        dice at every possible opportunity." --Stephen Hawking

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