Brandon Turbeville
March 8, 2018
A new vaccine bill has passed through committee in the Oklahoma House and, for a change, it’s a positive development. The bill, which still has to go through the general House and the Senate would be a major step in the right direction in terms of parental and patient choice in regards to vaccines.
Under House Bill 3444, a patient or a patient’s family cannot be penalized by an insurance company or medical doctor if they do not follow a vaccine schedule.
“This bill basically helps preserve the freedom of parents to make a decision in regards to their health care,” said Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola.
But, predictably, other members of the Oklahoma Congress aren’t quite so lucid as Representative Gann. For instance, Senator Ervin Yen, stated that “As a physician, as a scientist, if I don’t keep trying to increase vaccination in Oklahoma, in my opinion, it’s malpractice.”
Judging from Yen’s statement which demonstrates a stunning lack of understanding of what malpractice is, science, and the concept of individual rights as well as the role of doctors in society (i.e. not authoritarian dictators), it would be wise for Yen to stop practicing medicine and resign from the Oklahoma Senate before he is able to do serious damage to the people of that state.
Regardless, the bill is eligible for a vote this week.
It states that an insurance company may not:
A new vaccine bill has passed through committee in the Oklahoma House and, for a change, it’s a positive development. The bill, which still has to go through the general House and the Senate would be a major step in the right direction in terms of parental and patient choice in regards to vaccines.
Under House Bill 3444, a patient or a patient’s family cannot be penalized by an insurance company or medical doctor if they do not follow a vaccine schedule.
“This bill basically helps preserve the freedom of parents to make a decision in regards to their health care,” said Rep. Tom Gann, R-Inola.
But, predictably, other members of the Oklahoma Congress aren’t quite so lucid as Representative Gann. For instance, Senator Ervin Yen, stated that “As a physician, as a scientist, if I don’t keep trying to increase vaccination in Oklahoma, in my opinion, it’s malpractice.”
Judging from Yen’s statement which demonstrates a stunning lack of understanding of what malpractice is, science, and the concept of individual rights as well as the role of doctors in society (i.e. not authoritarian dictators), it would be wise for Yen to stop practicing medicine and resign from the Oklahoma Senate before he is able to do serious damage to the people of that state.
Regardless, the bill is eligible for a vote this week.
It states that an insurance company may not:
