Aren't vaccines mandated by the government?

[Nancy Waterman]

for children. Isn't that the same as the government forcing people to buy something because, if they don't, there can be community harm (an epidemic)? How is this different than the individual mandate?

[grantcart]

1. Social Security and Medicare are both 'mandated by the government' both are insurance plans.

[PoliticAverse]

2. What vacinations mandated by the _Federal Government_ are you referring to ?

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/RS21414.pdf

[louis-t]

3. Rubella, measles, small pox.

[PoliticAverse]

5. Are those _Federally_ mandated vaccinations or _State_ mandated ?...

http://www.vaccinesafety.edu/exemptreview101503.pdf

[elleng]

7. State.

FDA regulates and licenses vaccines, for safety.

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/laws/state-reqs.htm

[PoliticAverse]

8. Which is why the vaccine analogy doesn't apply...

The Supreme Court case is about the limits of the power of the Federal Government.

[elleng]

9. Right

[robinlynne]

4. Your argument, vaccines, is a good reason for single payer. BUT, I think people can NOT get vaccine

vaccines for their children if they want, which in fact endangers other children.

there are people who are aginst vacinnes for religious or medical or other reasons, and do not vaccinate their kids.

[Humanist_Activist]

10. That's something I oppose, except for valid medical reasons, all children should be vaccinated...

regardless of their parent's idiocy, oh sorry, I mean beliefs.

[robinlynne]

11. I agree with you. but we were talking about the law. The law does not force vaccines,

i.e. does not force individuals to do what is best for all.
So I don't see mandated insurance pasing the Supreme Court, any Supreme Court.

had Obama brought in single payer, mandated health care, that would be a different story. Mandated purchase of insurance, if you really think about it, is ridiculous.

Without auto insurance you can not buy a car. Your choice. Without purchasing health insurance, what? you can not live?
if I have a choice between buying health insurance and a roof over my head or food, health insurance will not be purchased.
period. And I am not poor enough to be eligible for government aid. nor wealthy enough to pay for health insurance.

[Humanist_Activist]

12. Actually I agree, there's a world of difference between paying taxes for a public health system...

versus forcing us to purchase a private plan. I would prefer a public(single payer) system myself.

I do differ in the comparison to vaccines though. My issue with the mandate is that it puts an unsustainable burden on a lot of people, while the vaccines would not.

Individuals are forced to do certain things for the betterment of society, most of these are restrictions on behavior(don't steal, etc.), others are requirements of society(taxation), but they are usually there for the public good, not to enrich insurance companies, that's my biggest issue.

Not to mention that any plans you or I can afford will be, most likely, high deductible plans, and therefore practically useless to use, unless you want to lose your home, go into debt, and file for bankruptcy.

[elleng]

6. Yes, exactly.

Its a matter of good public policy; same, imo.

EDIT: However,

'In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates and licenses all vaccines to ensure safety and effectiveness. No federal vaccination laws exist, but all 50 states require certain vaccinations for children entering public schools. Depending on the state, children must be vaccinated against some or all of the following diseases: mumps, measles, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, and polio.'

http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/laws/state-reqs.htm

[Humanist_Activist]

13. I think its not a valid comparison...

First, it varies by state, most mandate it, but generally only for children attending public school. In addition, the worst case scenario in not following this mandate is not being able to have your kids attend public school. No fines, etc.

Not to mention the fact that there are allowed exceptions for religious or conscience reasons(not valid in my opinion), and also for medical reasons(perfectly valid).

In addition, states and the federal government have a compelling public reason to enforce mandates on vaccinations, and the burden on families is negligible financially because there are options available that make the vaccines affordable and/or free. Public and free clinics, etc.

Unfortunately, no such options are available for the individual mandate on insurance, first, you are required to purchase insurance through a private plan, and for low income people who don't qualify for assistance, this means high deduct and low premium plans, in other words, not much better than not having insurance. In addition, for the individual, there's no compelling reason to force them to purchase insurance when the plans in question only have limited reach. If it were public, yes, private(and broken up into many plans) no.