Illinois Representative Jonathan Carroll has introduced new legislation that will compel those who choose to not be vaccinated against COVID-19 to pay 100% of their bills should they land in the hospital because of COVID. 

Rep. Carroll believes that people who choose to remain unvaccinated against COVID should be held responsible for their decisions. 

As of press time, 60.1% of the population of the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 71.2% of the U.S. population received at least the first dose of the COVID vaccine. 

COVID-19 Legislation Introduced by Rep. Carroll

Those who choose to remain unvaccinated against COVID-19 should pay 100% of their hospital bills should they end up with COVID, according to a new legislation introduced by Illinois Representative Jonathan Carroll. 

The new legislation introduced by Rep. Carroll could be viewed here. 

According to a report by Ars Technica, the legislation "would amend the state's insurance code so that accident and health insurance policies in 2023 would no longer cover COVID-19 hospital bills for people who choose to remain unvaccinated."

The lawmaker clarified that this would not apply to those who have medical conditions that prevent them from getting vaccinated against COVID. 

"I think it's time that we say, 'You choose not to get vaccinated, then you're also going to assume the risk that if you do catch COVID and you get sick, the responsibility is on you,'" Rep. Carroll said to the Chicago Sun-Times, per the Ars Technica report.

Rep. Carroll likewise also referred to the nationwide data that shows that the majority of those who are in the hospital due to COVID-19 are unvaccinated individuals. Per the Ars Technica report, around 600,000 people are hospitalized because of COVID every day. 

Related Article: COVID-19 Study: Unvaccinated People are Twice as Likely to Get Infected Again

The Cost of the Unvaccinated on the U.S.

The Ars Technica report points out that hospital care for those with COVID-19 has been costing the United States billions of dollars. 

The report specifically cites an analysis done by the Peterson Center on Healthcare and Kaiser Family Foundation. The analysis shows that "preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations among unvaccinated adults cost over $5 billion just between June and August of 2021."

The report adds that the average cost of a hospital stay due to COVID amounts to around $20,000. 

U.S. COVID Vaccination in Numbers

According to the COVID data tracker of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a total of 199.7 million people in the United States have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of press time. That accounts for 60.1% of the population. 

Nearly 236.4 million people have received at least their first dose of a COVID vaccine. This figure accounts for 71.2% of the U.S. population. 

47.9 million people have received their COVID-19 booster shots. That is 24% of the fully vaccinated population of the country. 

Read Also: COVID-19: Unvaccinated Vs. Vaccinated; New X-Ray Images Reveal Alarming Lung Differences in Oxygen Inhalation

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Written by Isabella James