Open AccessUse of Fees to Discourage Nonmedical Exemptions to School Immunization Laws in US States
Author(s) -
John Billington,
Saad B. Omer
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2015.302967
Subject(s) - taxpayer , state (computer science) , immunization , public health , balance (ability) , vaccination , law , business , political science , medicine , environmental health , virology , nursing , algorithm , antigen , computer science , immunology , physical medicine and rehabilitation
Recent outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States have renewed public discourse about state vaccine mandates for children entering schools. With acknowledgment of the challenge of eliminating religious and philosophical exemptions in most states, some have proposed instead to impose additional administrative burdens for parents seeking such exemptions. We review the use of taxes, fines, and fees as financial disincentives in public health. We argue that adding processing fees to a comprehensive set of administrative requirements for obtaining exemptions will avoid the use of taxpayer funding for exemption processing and will help tilt the balance of convenience in favor of vaccination.