Thread by @kazweida

In today's thread, we're addressing whether or not insurance companies can start hitting the unvaccinated where it hurts. In their wallet.

And the answer, as you might guess, is complicated.
As is everything about healthcare in this country.
(THREAD)

(2) The healthcare costs of this pandemic have been catastrophic and that is probably going to translate into a rate hike, although perhaps not as much as you might expect.

But who should bear the burden of those costs?
Shouldn't it be the unvaccinated?

freep.com/story/money/bu…

(3) That's a lot easier said than done. Certainly insurers might calculate that unvaccinated people are a greater risk, but it's likely since most Americans get their insurance through their employers that we'll all feel the brunt of those costs.

courant.com/business/hc-bi…

(4) Employers do have some choices though. Similar to how they handle workers who smoke, employers could require the unvaccinated to pay for certain types of additional coverage. The legality of this is a bit murky at the moment.

gainesville.com/story/business…

(5) The easiest way out of that mess for employers might be to require vaccination for all employees and then to obtain a discounted rate from insurers for mitigating that risk.

So far legal challenges have supported employers requiring vaccination.

webmd.com/vaccines/covid…

(6) So while insurance companies can't directly affect premiums for the unvaccinated, they could lean into discounts for workplaces that require vaccination.

This is actually a problem that's been widely debated long before COVID.

cnn.com/2011/OPINION/0…

(7) We've seen some movement across the country from hospitals and healthcare centers that they'll require vacicnation. Many of these settings have required certain types of vaccinations like those for hepatitis and tuberculosis for years.

wavy.com/covid-19-vacci…

(8) College campuses are also answering the call. Large university systems like UCal will require all faculty, staff & students to be fully vaccinated.

It's been a longstanding practice for schools to require proof of vaccination before enrollment.

bestcolleges.com/blog/list-of-c…

(9) There are about 19 million college students in America, so that would be a pretty BIG deal.

Encouragingly the military does seem to be planning to follow suit as well, which would cover anywhere from 1.5 to 2 million active duty service members.

washingtonpost.com/national-secur…

(10) Requiring the COVID vax will happen more once the FDA fully approves the shot. Currently, some state legislatures banned requiring the vaccine due to "emergency use" status

We need to remove those barriers ASAP because Delta is coming for our kids

nbcnews.com/politics/white…

(END) Thanks for stopping for today's thread, suggestion courtesy of @gerryflood8 . Come back Thursday and we'll do this again.

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