Delta Air Lines Raises Health Insurance Premiums by $200/Month for Unvaccinated Employees: What You Need to Know

This decision aimed to offset the rising costs associated with COVID-19 hospitalizations among unvaccinated staff. 

In a significant policy shift, Delta Air Lines announced in August 2021 that starting November 1, unvaccinated employees enrolled in the company's health insurance plan would face an additional $200 monthly surcharge. 

While the surcharge was later discontinued in April 2022, the move sparked widespread debate about employer rights, public health, and the ethics of linking personal health choices to financial consequences.

The Rationale Behind the Surcharge

Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian, justified the surcharge by highlighting the financial burden of COVID-19 hospitalizations. He noted that the average hospital stay for an employee with COVID-19 cost the airline approximately $50,000. Furthermore, Delta reported that all employees hospitalized for COVID-19 in recent weeks were not fully vaccinated. 

The surcharge was introduced as a measure to address the financial risk posed by the decision to remain unvaccinated .

Legal and Ethical Considerations

The introduction of a health insurance surcharge for unvaccinated employees raised several legal and ethical questions:

·         Legal Framework: Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), insurers and employers are generally prohibited from discriminating against individuals based on health-related factors. However, Delta's self-insured health plan, administered by UnitedHealthcare, allowed the company more flexibility in setting premiums. This arrangement enabled Delta to implement the surcharge without violating federal laws .

·         Ethical Concerns: Critics argued that the surcharge could disproportionately affect certain demographic groups, particularly those with limited access to healthcare or vaccine hesitancy due to historical mistrust. There were also concerns about the potential for employers to impose similar surcharges based on other health-related behaviors, such as smoking or obesity, leading to a slippery slope of penalizing personal health choices .

Impact on Vaccination Rates

Delta's policy was designed to motivate its employees to get vaccinated. After the announcement of the surcharge, the company's vaccination rate among U.S.-based employees went up to over 90%. 

On the other hand, the question of whether financial incentives are effective in encouraging vaccination is still open. 

Some experts believe that the situation is two-sided: on one hand, people may be influenced by incentives and decide to get vaccinated, while on the other hand, they may choose to not seek medical care because of financial issues.

The Discontinuation of the Surcharge

The company said in April 2022 that they would stop charging the unvaccinated workers the $200 monthly fee. Ed Bastian, the CEO, mentioned that the main reason for making this decision was that they considered COVID-19 to be a seasonal virus. 

Also, the surcharge was the main factor that the company pointed out as the driver to the workforce's vaccination rate being significantly increased.

Broader Implications for Employers

The response of Delta Air Lines was the starting point for other companies that wanted to go down the same route. 

Some employers even went a step further and implemented additional incentives or penalties to make sure that their employees were compliant with the vaccination policy. 

Yet, not only were these measures criticised, but they also encountered legal issues on their implementation. At the same time, however, the debate underscored the challenges involved in finding a way to keep individuals' rights and privacy intact while implementing public health policies.

Conclusion

Making the unvaccinated employees pay more for their health insurance was a daring decision of Delta Air Lines aimed at dealing with the financial risks of COVID-19 hospitalizations. 

Even though the policy was dropped in the end, it opened up the new terrain for discussions of employers' responsibilities, public health, and ethical problems of connecting personal health decisions with financial punishments. 

As things keep changing, we'll have to wait and see how other employers will handle these tricky issues down the road.

 

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