Health analysts are now deciding whether unvaccinated employees should now be charged more for health insurance.
The logic is drawing similar parallels to the higher premium smokers face.
Unvaccinated employees could pay as much as $20 to $50 more per paycheck to cover their health insurance, according to Wade Symons of Mercer Health, reports The Hill.
"Unvaccinated individuals have potential to cost the employer more from a health care spend perspective," Symons said, "an individual with a tough COVID case" could even pay up to $50,000 for a hospital bill.
Symons also said that a higher premium for an unvaccinated worker "allows a company to say, 'OK, you have a choice to do it or not, but if you don't there will be a surcharge you have to pay.'"
"So it feels a little better from the employer's perspective to be able to say, 'We're not mandating it, but we want to nudge you along the road to getting vaccinated,'" he added.
New research from Indeed Hiring Lab indicates that the number of job openings requiring someone to be vaccinated has nearly doubled between July and Aug.
Recently President Joe Biden mandated that federal employees be vaccinated. Some other states, such as California, ordered that all school teachers and employees be vaccinated. And in Hawaii, first responders are now be required to get vaccinated.
Following Biden's announcement, some private companies began mandating vaccinations amongst their employees. Employers include such companies as Disney and Walmart.
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