Delta Air Lines Implements Health Insurance Surcharge for Unvaccinated Employees
This week, Delta Air Lines stirred the pot with a spicy new policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline’s CEO, Ed Bastian, dropped the news that starting this fall, unvaccinated employees under certain health plans will have to cough up an extra $200 each month for their health insurance. Yes, you read that right—it’s like their wallets will feel a bit lighter just in time for the holidays!
Mounting Financial Implications for the Unvaccinated
If you’ve been playing it fast and loose with the idea of getting vaccinated, here’s something to ponder. With the FDA giving a thumbs-up to the first COVID-19 vaccine, employers are starting to get a bit more hands-on with workplace vaccination policies. Enter Delta, showing up fashionably late but with a twist—hit ’em where it hurts, the paycheck! It’s certainly a no-nonsense way to say, “Get the shot or it’s gonna cost ya!”
A Push for Vaccination from Delta
At Delta, with a hefty 75% of their 74,000 employees already vaccinated, this new surcharge is mainly targeting the holdouts. But let’s not skip over the dollar signs here. Bastian pointed out in a company memo that each COVID-19 hospitalization rings up a staggering $50,000 bill for the company. Yup, that’s like buying a brand new luxury sedan… every time someone gets seriously ill! With those figures, Delta’s new policy doesn’t just seem like a nudge towards vaccination—it’s more of a gentle shove for the sake of their bottom line.
Since Delta is self-insured, every claim hits their books directly with UnitedHealthcare playing the role of the middleman handling the nitty-gritty. And while HIPAA usually throws a shield around health status discrimination, Delta might just have found a cheeky loophole by dressing this surcharge up as part of a wellness program.
Navigating Legal and Health Law Perspectives
Lindsay Wiley, a health law aficionado from American University Washington College of Law, tossed in her two cents about Delta possibly tagging this surcharge to a wellness program. She recalls that while the ’90s were all about HIPAA setting limits, the Affordable Care Act later gave insurers a little wiggle room to think about factors like age and smoking habits when pricing premiums, but not vaccination status. Yet, if Delta can present its case under the guise of promoting good health practices, they may just skate by.
Wiley noted, “The regulations around wellness programs are as complex as a gourmet recipe, subject to interpretation and change, but they could provide a cover for this sort of thing if done right.”
Implications and Future Outlook
The truth is, the legal scene around employer wellness programs is currently as stable as a house of cards, with recent shifts from the Trump to Biden administrations. Larry Levitt from the Kaiser Family Foundation threw out there via social media that if Delta’s bold move nudges more folks towards vaccines, it technically fits into the wellness program ethos—healthy employees save money.
For now, it seems on the up and up for companies to offer this type of incentive, with the big caveat from the EEOC—a stern no-no to anything that smells of coercion. As we ride out both the legal and viral storms, don’t be shocked if your boss starts dangling a carrot (or brandishing a stick) to get that vaccine in your arm.
Further Reading on COVID-19 Financial Implications
- Exploring Financial Penalties for the Unvaccinated
- Link Between Median Income and Vaccination Rates
- Rising Costs of COVID-19 Treatments
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