Latest Coronavirus - Yikes

[bamawriter]

So they are also encouraging someone exposed, to not tell anyone, so they can continue to come to work and get paid.

That's certainly a risk. But they're attempting to mitigate that risk by making unvaccinated employees wear masks.

 

[McDad]

My company's policy is pretty much the same. They also did away with "public health" time off. If an unvaxxed employee has to quarantine because of a COVID exposure, it counts against their PTO from here on out.

It's not really arbitrary when you consider the expense the company has to incur should an employee have to be out or what they'll absorb if they provide insurance to someone that winds up in the hospital for an extreme case.

What is "public health" time off?
Would your company bring in a temp, or pay overtime to others to cover when another employee is out sick?
What company provides insurance? At McRib's hospital she pays for her policy.

 

[NurseGoodVol]

Convince the poorly educated to go ahead and get vaccinated.

If you don’t understand gene therapy hesitancy with an EAU shot I can’t help your uneducated attitude.

 

[AshG]

Whether or not you're getting the shot, the vaccine development helps advance other AAV and gene therapies.

That this could one day lead to a shot that keeps me from having to take anti rheumatoid and anti clotting medicine daily gives me hope.

Gene Therapies Receive a Shot in the Arm

 

[bamawriter]

What is "public health" time off?

A lot of employers offered paid time off for quarantining that didn't count against their allotted PTO.

Would your company bring in a temp, or pay overtime to others to cover when another employee is out sick?

I suppose it would depend on the role. I work in an area of the company where it's pretty easy to work from home, so I never had to worry about taking time off to quarantine. I'm not sure what's been done to account for those that couldn't work from home. I do know that we closed individual offices if enough of the staff had to be out.

What does the company absorb if they provide insurance to someone who winds up in the hospital?

Insurance companies roll those costs forward. So, when the employer goes to negotiate for the next year, the insurer is going to up the cost. The company has to then determine how much, if any, they'll push on their staff and how much they'll absorb.

 

[allvol123]

That's certainly a risk. But they're attempting to mitigate that risk by making unvaccinated employees wear masks.

Seems like over thinking the situation at this point.

Covid simply cant generate the numbers it has in the past because of naturally infected and vaccinated people.

 

[508mikey]

Seems like over thinking the situation at this point.

Covid simply cant generate the numbers it has in the past because of naturally infected and vaccinated people.

and masks dont do squat

 

[AshG]

Insurance companies roll those costs forward. So, when the employer goes to negotiate for the next year, the insurer is going to up the cost. The company has to then determine how much, if any, they'll push on their staff and how much they'll absorb.

And then shareholder dividends go up, and the CEO gets a bonus that would have provided insurance to another 10k people that year.

 

[bamawriter]

Seems like over thinking the situation at this point.

Covid simply cant generate the numbers it has in the past because of naturally infected and vaccinated people.

Perhaps. But given the last 15 months, I understand not wanting to take chances.

 

[hog88]

Insurance companies roll those costs forward. So, when the employer goes to negotiate for the next year, the insurer is going to up the cost. The company has to then determine how much, if any, they'll push on their staff and how much they'll absorb.

I don't believe health insurance works like this. I've never had went through a loss run with health insurance like auto, GL or WC.

 

[McDad]

A lot of employers offered paid time off for quarantining that didn't count against their allotted PTO.



I suppose it would depend on the role. I work in an area of the company where it's pretty easy to work from home, so I never had to worry about taking time off to quarantine. I'm not sure what's been done to account for those that couldn't work from home. I do know that we closed individual offices if enough of the staff had to be out.



Insurance companies roll those costs forward. So, when the employer goes to negotiate for the next year, the insurer is going to up the cost. The company has to then determine how much, if any, they'll push on their staff and how much they'll absorb.

McRib's hospital enacted the mandatory PTO usage during the pandemic. Every director was expected to take 1 day per week and use PTO. I hadn't heard of any company omitting quarantine time away from regular PTO.
Any place that I have worked, before self employment, and McRib's job simply offload the work from the missing employee to the others. Except in cases where they are already short staffed, like nursing, for instance. With nurses, they hire in travelers at a much higher hourly rate.

I changed my last question after you quoted. If a company is paying insurance, I can understand the case to be made because costs will pass on eventually. OTOH, when have insurance rates ever dropped from one enrollment to another with no change in coverage details? Also, aren't companies pooled together among underwriters to spread risk over a larger number of people? And finally, is your company paying for your insurance or do you pay a small amount from each payroll which pays for your policy?

 

[DancingOutlaw]

Your employer appears to disagree.



Now that's a decent argument. If they are going to enforce the policy, they can't pick-and-choose.



Well yeah, they could do that. Of course, it's also possible that they're trying to goad their unvaxxed employees into quitting so they don't have to fork out for unemployment.



If they're providing insurance, they wind up paying for hospitalizations no matter where or how the employee got sick. That stuff adds up quick.

You don't "fork out" for unemployment. It's a fixed rate based on payroll. You pay into the UI trust, it pays your soon to be unemployed employees. The employer isn't on the hook for anything.

 

[bamawriter]

I don't believe health insurance works like this. I've never had went through a loss run with health insurance like auto, GL or WC.

I worked in risk management for my previous employer. I didn't have a say in any insurance negotiations, but I was in on the conversations. The insurer would itemize the procedures they paid for over a certain period, and they'd tell us that it was going to up our rate by $_________.

We had one year where we'd had several employees give birth over the prior 18-24 months. Our insurer jacked up our rate, and management opted not to pass any of it onto the employees. I sat and listened as a rep from the insurer told us "Vasectomies are elective, but they're covered under your plan. If some of your employees or their spouses get snipped, your plan will probably get a bit cheaper next year."

 

[McDad]

You don't "fork out" for unemployment. It's a fixed rate based on payroll. You pay into the UI trust, it pays your soon to be unemployed employees. The employer isn't on the hook for anything.

And the rate you pay is on your past history of unemployment filed / paid. I pay unemployment on myself because I my business in incorporated. My rate is .01%. Been that way for almost 15 years.

 

[bamawriter]

And finally, is your company paying for your insurance or do you pay a small amount from each payroll which pays for your policy?

I have a payroll deduction, but my company is paying about 2/3 of my premium.

 

[McDad]

I worked in risk management for my previous employer. I didn't have a say in any insurance negotiations, but I was in on the conversations. The insurer would itemize the procedures they paid for over a certain period, and they'd tell us that it was going to up our rate by $_________.

We had one year where we'd had several employees give birth over the prior 18-24 months. Our insurer jacked up our rate, and management opted not to pass any of it onto the employees. I sat and listened as a rep from the insurer told us "Vasectomies are elective, but they're covered under your plan. If some of your employees or their spouses get snipped, your plan will probably get a bit cheaper next year."

Call me cynical but I believe any insurer carrier will find any justification possible to raise rates when possible.

 

[bamawriter]

McRib's hospital enacted the mandatory PTO usage during the pandemic. Every director was expected to take 1 day per week and use PTO. I hadn't heard of any company omitting quarantine time away from regular PTO.

I switched employers during the pandemic, and both offered "public health" pay. My wife's employer is still offering it.

Obviously, that's anecdotal. Maybe it's rarer than I thought.

 

[McDad]

I have a payroll deduction, but my company is paying about 2/3 of my premium.

I didn't know such a thing still existed. I thought most companies off loaded the expense to the employee.

Are you given incentives to stop smoking, lose weight, get health checkups and such?

 

[hog88]

I worked in risk management for my previous employer. I didn't have a say in any insurance negotiations, but I was in on the conversations. The insurer would itemize the procedures they paid for over a certain period, and they'd tell us that it was going to up our rate by $_________.

We had one year where we'd had several employees give birth over the prior 18-24 months. Our insurer jacked up our rate, and management opted not to pass any of it onto the employees. I sat and listened as a rep from the insurer told us "Vasectomies are elective, but they're covered under your plan. If some of your employees or their spouses get snipped, your plan will probably get a bit cheaper next year."

That's essentially a loss run and in over 20 years I have never had that conversation during a renewal.

 

[McDad]

I switched employers during the pandemic, and both offered "public health" pay. My wife's employer is still offering it.

Obviously, that's anecdotal. Maybe it's rarer than I thought.

I don't know, either. We're both in Mid TN, I think. I'm gonna ask the boss when she gets home about it.

 

[bamawriter]

Call me cynical but I believe any insurer carrier will find any justification possible to raise rates when possible.

Of that there is no doubt. But, given the cost of hospitalization for something like COVID, not trying to mitigate the risk is like handing a knife to the guy that wants to scalp you.

And yes, I know that analogy is culturally insensitive.

 

[508mikey]

I didn't know such a thing still existed. I thought most companies off loaded the expense to the employee.

Are you given incentives to stop smoking, lose weight, get health checkups and such?

mine does but with that clown in office this year I dread the thought of next years with the uncontrolled inflation

 

[BigOrangeAl 1979]

China Reports Human Case of H10N3 Bird Flu, a Possible First

 

[bamawriter]

I didn't know such a thing still existed. I thought most companies off loaded the expense to the employee.

Are you given incentives to stop smoking, lose weight, get health checkups and such?

Not lose weight, but yes on the checkups item (thought it's not a massive difference). Smokers pay more under our plan.

 

[McDad]

Of that there is no doubt. But, given the cost of hospitalization for something like COVID, not trying to mitigate the risk is like handing a knife to the guy that wants to scalp you.

And yes, I know that analogy is culturally insensitive.

That could be. I just don't know enough of the demographics to know for certain.

For example, most of the critical hospitalizations were in 50+ age bracket. But I don't know the percentage who were 64.5+ and thus on medicare. Also, don't know if medicare is primary for those in that age range who are still working and have a private policy.

To get back to the server who sparked the convo, he would statistically be in the low risk to mitigate group, I'd imagine.