Monday, December 03, 2007
Editorial: One mandate alone won't do
If Virginia can require the HPV vaccine, the state can require insurance companies to pay for it.
From the RoundTable blog
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The Virginia General Assembly and Gov. Tim Kaine this year decided it was imperative for the state to mandate that adolescent girls be vaccinated against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer.
Sixth-grade girls must get the $390 three-shot human papillomavirus vaccine, just as students are required to get measles vaccinations and DTP shots, although Virginia parents may opt out the program without giving a reason.
Last week, the state Special Advisory Commission on Mandated Health Insurance Benefits voted against requiring insurance companies to cover the vaccine.
Mandating an expensive vaccine approved by the FDA only a little more than a year ago is OK, but mandating that insurance companies provide coverage for it is not?
The commission's recommendation to the General Assembly is non-binding. Legislators should let the recommendation remain as such -- and ignore it.
During this year's assembly session, then-Del. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico County, introduced a bill that would require health insurers, health care subscription plans and health maintenance organizations to provide coverage for the HPV vaccine. The bill was tabled by the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
On Nov. 29, the advisory commission unanimously voted against mandating coverage for the vaccine. The reasons are unclear; the vote apparently was taken with little discussion.
Hopefully, a worry that mandating coverage for the HPV vaccine would somehow encourage promiscuity isn't at play here.
McEachin, who was elected to the state Senate last month, should continue to push for mandated coverage.
Virginia already has opened the door to mandated insurance coverage by requiring that girls get a vaccine that may help guard against diseases caused by HPV.
If the state can force a vaccine upon 11- and 12-year-old girls, then the state can require insurance companies to cover its cost.
