The Arizona Senate this week approved legislation that would bar insurance companies — including Medicaid — from reimbursing physicians at different rates based on whether their patients “refuse one or more vaccines,” according to the Arizona Mirror.
Lawmakers passed the bill Tuesday by a 16-13 party-line vote. The measure now moves to the Arizona House of Representatives. If approved there, it would head to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs for consideration.
Bill sponsor Sen. Janae Shamp, a Republican nurse, said the proposal is a response to parents who say they struggle to find pediatric care for their children if they don’t follow the full childhood vaccination schedule from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“This specifically comes from a lot of parents asking for help for their children to be able to go to a pediatrician’s office when they don’t meet the entire vaccine schedule minimums to go to a practice,” Shamp told colleagues on the Senate floor. “This is about equity for all patients.”
Shamp previously said she lost her nursing job after refusing the COVID-19 vaccine.
‘Bill protects families’ rights to make informed decisions’
Ursula Conway, president emeritus of Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) Arizona Chapter, said the legislation reflects broader debates about medical choice and physician incentives.
Shamp’s bill reflects “Arizona’s commitment to each individual’s right to make their own healthcare decisions,” Conway said.
She said some physicians receive financial bonuses tied to vaccination rates within their practices. She argued that those incentives can influence how doctors treat families who decline shots.
“Consequently, some practitioners choose to restrict their practice to those families who agree to the recommended vaccine schedule, thus securing their bonus income,” she said.
Families who don’t follow the schedule face difficulty finding care, according to Conway.
Hellbound and Down 