
“What we've seen from other employers who have implemented surcharges similar to this - the vaccination rate … increased very, very quickly and the surcharges seem to have a direct impact on the vaccination rate,” Rich said.Ī spokesperson for Gov. Delta Airlines adopted a similar $200 surcharge for unvaccinated employees, which the airline’s CEO credited to pushing employee vaccination rates up from 75 to 90 percent. Other states and businesses have implemented similar vaccine surcharges, including in Louisiana, which last month adopted plans for a $200 surcharge for any health system employee with an unvaccinated spouse or domestic partner. Whether it's something the state takes on or something that employees will have to take on, it's going to be significant, week by week, unless these testing costs come down.” But regardless of the solution, she said that the cost of testing isn’t going away, and that absent a surcharge, the other option is to raise premiums or reduce benefits for all plan participants. Rich said that PEBP is exploring finding a vendor to provide surveillance testing services throughout the state at a flat $60 per test fee. Insurers such as PEBP are required to pay for diagnostic testing - such as possible exposure or if an individual feels symptoms - but are not required to pay for surveillance testing, which refers to regular weekly or daily tests regardless of symptoms.
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The insurance plan estimates that annual COVID testing costs could range between $12.3 to $24.7 million, based on the average cost per test (anywhere from free to up to $130 per test based on location and type of testing billed to PEBP). While the Biden administration’s efforts to impose a vaccine mandate on large businesses is still facing court challenges, a state contract for onsite COVID testing (funded by federal CARES Act dollars) is expiring in December, meaning PEBP may end up having to foot the bill for additional testing costs. The state’s current policy of requiring weekly COVID tests for unvaccinated employees at worksites with less than a 70 percent vaccination rate could soon be overridden by federal testing or vaccine mandates. PEBP estimates that the surcharge would raise about $18.4 million annually - and Rich said those dollars will be needed to help cover the cost of continual COVID testing. If approved, the new policy would require all state employees and dependents who do not provide proof of vaccination or a legitimate religious or health exemption by Jto begin paying a monthly premium - $55 per employee, and $175 per dependent over the age of 18 covered by the health plan.

So do you spread those costs across everybody? Or do you propose that those responsible for the costs are paying the costs?” “There are going to be costs that are associated with unvaccinated employees,” she said in an interview with The Nevada Independent.
