This post was originally published on this site
Roughly 15% of America’s adults haven’t had one COVID-19 shot, and polling shows the hold-outs include a group that consistently give a hard pass on the jab.
News keeps emerging that this portion of the population will be facing potentially hard financial fallout for their choice, beginning next year, if not sooner.
Earlier this week, Kroger
KR,
the national grocery-store chain, said it was ending certain benefits for unvaccinated workers next year. Google
GOOG,
reportedly said unvaccinated workers could face unpaid leave, and eventually termination if they forgo the shot, CNBC reported this week.
Anyone who gets fired in 2022 by the tech giant would join scores of hospital workers, airlines staff, public sector employees – like school district workers, a college football coach, a deputy sheriff — and others who have already been terminated this year for their refusal.
The number of vaccination holdouts is shrinking, according to ongoing polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation. As of November, 3% said they’d only do it if required, a steady number over the past several months. While the wait-and-see crowd has decreased, the people who say they’ll “definitely not” get the shot has ranged slightly from 12% to 16%, the polling showed.
At this point in the pandemic, the people who are going to be convinced into getting the shot will likely have to hear it from a person they trust already, such as a close friend, relative or doctor.
They are going to involve personal heart-to-heart conversations about much more than money, one study said. But when those talks happen, here are some financial considerations to factor in:
1. Losing a job and possibly jobless benefits
A federal rule would mandate private-sector businesses with at least 100 workers to either have a staff that’s vaccinated or tested regularly. But the regulation from the Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is tied up in court and on hold. Lawsuits are also swirling around vaccine-mandate rules related to health-care workers and federal contractors.
But those cases, legal observers noted, revolve around one big question: Does the federal government have the power to tell businesses to require vaccines?
Thus far, the answer appears to be yes.
Employers who decided to institute vaccine requirements by themselves, while carving out certain exemptions for religious beliefs or medical conditions, have withstood legal challenges, they add.
Google said workers had until Jan. 18 to show proof of vaccination or apply for an exemption, according to CNBC. If that didn’t happen, Google workers would reportedly be put first on paid leave, then unpaid leave and eventually termination.
“‘As we’ve stated before, our vaccination requirements are one of the most important ways we can keep our workforce safe and keep our services running.’”
“As we’ve stated before, our vaccination requirements are one of the most important ways we can keep our workforce safe and keep our services running,” a Google spokeswoman told MarketWatch. “We’re committed to doing everything possible to help our employees who can get vaccinated do so, and firmly stand behind our vaccination policy.”
The number of employers with their own vaccine requirements is growing, but a lot still depends on the court battles over the federal rules, surveys show. For example, 75% of employees said they wouldn’t have a requirement if the OSHA rules didn’t take effect, according to a recent poll from the Society for Human Resource Management, a professional organization.
A separate survey from the human resources consulting firm Willis Towers Watson
WLTW,
said only 3% of companies with vaccination requirements saw a spike in resignations. The people who walked away or were fired might miss out on unemployment pay too.
When workers are fired for failing to follow company rules — including policies pertaining to vaccines or masks — they typically would not be able to collect jobless benefits from the state, some labor and employment attorneys have said.
Republican-leaning states, Iowa, Tennessee, Florida and Kansas, say residents can still collect unemployment insurance if they lose jobs because they will not follow a workplace vaccination requirement.
But the subsequent job hunt could become more difficult at a time, especially when some people are disclosing their vaccination status on their resume and LinkedIn profile.
Even amid a labor shortage, at least some hiring managers are starting to keep their eyes open for people who come right out and say they are vaccinated, some surveys suggest.
2. Paying more for healthcare costs
Health-insurance companies cannot charge different rates based on vaccination status, experts note. But employers can tack on surcharges for people who remain unvaccinated, they say.
For example, the unvaccinated salaried workers on Kroger’s health plan will start getting charged a $50 monthly fee beginning next year, the company confirmed this week. Kroger also said workers would no longer be able to use emergency paid leave if coming down with virus.
The extra $50 charge is putting the company in the ranks of other employers, like Delta Air Lines
DAL,
that are assessing surcharges. Delta’s $200 premium surcharge started in November. (That move nudged up the company’s vaccination levels.)
While insurers can’t charge different premiums based on vaccination status, they can decide they will not pick up the full tab on COVID-19 treatment — and that’s what many have done.
Many insurers waived cost-sharing on treatment and hospitalization in the pandemic’s earlier stages before vaccines became prevalent. As that changed, many stopped waiving the cost-sharing requirements, according to researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
More than 90% of the largest insurers in every state wrapped up the cost-sharing waivers by this month, if not sooner, they said.
3. Potentially paying for COVID-19 testing
After millions of COVID-19 tests, the procedure has become a common part of life. What may be a shock, however, is that insurance companies don’t have to cover the test when it’s not a matter of medical necessity. One scenario where that applies is regular testing to come into work, experts say.
The embattled OSHA rule makes it clear that companies are not required to pay for testing. If the rule goes into effect and companies do not pay for regular testing, it would fall either on the worker or their health insurer.
The regulation has caught a lot of heat — and this twist is no exception. One organization called it “wrong-headed” to push the cost onto workers but others say it fits with the general aim of nudging towards vaccination.
In early December, President Joe Biden said health-insurance companies will reimburse people for the COVID-19 test kits they buy over the counter. It’s one part of the president’s plan to try tamping down on infections without turning to lockdowns.
More specifics on the rules are expected to come out in January. Lindsey Dawson, an associate director at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said it might be up to insurers to determine if, when and how to single out the workplace-related tests.
