Source: The Wisconsin State JournalJan.mini storage 13--Health care providers are increasingly requiring employees to get flu shots each year, according to the Wisconsin Medical Society.A Republican bill introduced last year (AB 247) would have prohibited such requirements.The bill received a public hearing in November but has not been scheduled for a vote.A separate bill (AB 608) introduced last week would prohibit health care networks from requiring providers within their networks to receive a flu vaccine.The issue pits the right of an individual to make their own health care decisions against the right of an employer to control a workplace environment.The case for itRep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, R-Fond du Lac, introduced both bills. In a recent co-sponsorship memo he laid out why the bills were necessary to protect individuals who choose not to be immunized for whatever reason."Employees should not fear demotion, retaliation, or dismissal for making a personal choice to decline a mandated flu shot from their employer," Thiesfeldt said.He gave an example: a chiropractor who refuses to require employees to be immunized could be excluded from a health care network, potentially losing business to immunized chiropractors who participate in a network and can charge lower rates."This bill corrects this unfair practice," he said.The case against itDr. Tself storagem Bartholow, chief medical officer at the Wisconsin Medical Society, said medical professionals over the last 20 years have seen more benefits than harm from the flu vaccine, so the industry will increasingly require health care professionals to be immunized, particularly because they work with the sick and elderly who are most vulnerable to influenza."This is the private market speaking," Bartholow said. "This isn't government saying you must do X. It's a large group saying we've seen improvement by immunization."AB 608, which has a narrower scope than AB 247, still would be problematic, Bartholow said, because patients who are in pain and vulnerable are approaching care providers where the flu virus could be passed to them if the providers aren't being immunized."We have to be very, very careful," he said.To get involvedTo contact your lawmaker about this or any other bill, call the legislative hotline, which is staffed from 8:15 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. weekdays, at 608-266-9960 or 800-362-9472. To send an email, go to the Legislature's website at legis.wisconsin.gov, select "Assembly" or "Senate" and then "Email directory."-- Matthew DeFourCopyright: ___ (c)2014 The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) Visit The Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, Wis.) at .wisconsinstatejournal.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉
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