Without comprehensive insurance industry changes, those of us who are vaccinated will soon be paying for unvaccinated COVID-positive adults in our health insurance payments. In a national study, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that “unvaccinated adults hospitalized with COVID-19 cost the American health system at least $2.3 billion in June and July this year.” According to Healthsystemtracker.org, 98.3% of 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations were preventable by vaccination for the same period. These numbers don’t even account for the millions of dollars spent on out-patient care for COVID patients.
In Alaska, our small population, small insurance pool and the fact that only 54% of eligible Alaskans have received the vaccine, directly affects individuals, businesses and employers. Increases to premiums result from unvaccinated people’s ICU bed costs, $20,000 per day, as well as the costs resulting from their displacing other patients due to the surging number of cases.
Anti-vaxxers like to say that their decision to not get a shot only affects them. This is false. By way of increased health care insurance premiums, we are all paying unfairly for their choice.
If you choose to smoke, you pay more for insurance, whether through costs passed on by your employer or through the marketplace. The same should go for refusing to get the COVID vaccine.
— John Levy
Anchorage
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