Louisiana Health Care Will Charge Workers More If Spouses And Domestic Partners Are Not Vaccinated
Workers at one Louisiana healthcare system could be expecting a hefty bill if their partner or spouse is not vaccinated.
Nola.com reports that the workers at Ochsner Health will have to pay an extra $100 per paycheck if their spouse or domestic partner is not vaccinated by 2022.
Dubbed the “spousal COVID vaccine fee,” is set to take effect in early 2022 and will deduct up to $2,400 each year from an employee’s bi-weekly paycheck. This does not apply to a worker’s children.
CEO Warner Thomas said in a statement that,
“The reality is the cost of treating COVID-19, particularly for patients requiring intensive inpatient care, is expensive, and we spent more than $9 million on COVID care for those who are covered on our health plans over the last year.”
Charles Stoecker, a Tulane University professor says these costs are fair and will cover hospital stays for those who choose not to get the vaccine.
“Now those people have some incentives to consider the cost of the care that they’re asking other people to pay for,” said Stoecker. “If you’re asking everybody else to assume the risk for your unvaccinated stay in the ICU, it does make more sense that you should have to kick in more into the insurance pool.”