Tag Archive for: health benefits

Can Employers Make the COVID-19 Vaccine Mandatory?

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Throughout 2020, COVID-19 caused major changes to the way that people go about their daily lives. For employers, COVID-19 has created major challenges. In addition to stay-at-home orders forcing employees to work from home, leave due to illness has become a recurring problem since returning to the office. In an effort to reduce the transmission of COVID-19, many employers wonder if they can make the COVID-19 vaccine mandatory.

Can Employers Require Vaccination?

Many employers already require employees to get their yearly flu vaccine. Schools and other organizations where employees are exposed to potentially vulnerable populations also require vaccines against measles, whooping cough, and other diseases. According to experts, employers can require employees to take safety measures to protect themselves and others. This includes vaccinations like the COVID-19 vaccine. However, requiring vaccination doesn’t necessarily mean employers can fire employees that refuse.

On December 16th, 2020, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) provided answers regarding COVID-19 vaccination. Although employers can encourage or even require COVID-19 vaccination, their policies must comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII) and other workplace laws.

What this means is that while employers can suggest or require vaccination, employees with religious objections or disabilities must be excluded or accommodated. In addition, employers may need to reach an agreement with unions before mandating vaccines with union-represented employees.

Increasing Access to Vaccines

As the number of COVID-19 cases fluctuates in California, many employers worry about the impact the virus will have on their workforce. Vaccination has the potential to reduce the number of sick days and health insurance spend companies incur. However, requiring vaccination might cause more problems than its worth.

Employers wishing to encourage employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine could benefit from removing all barriers that exist preventing vaccination. Taking effective measures to ensure employees have access to vaccination without incurring out-of-pocket expense can increase the number of employees willing to receive the vaccination.

Final Thoughts

It’s crucial that employers weigh their options before attempting to make vaccination mandatory. While patients do not have to pay for the COVID-19 vaccine, providers can still charge a fee for administering the vaccine. This fee is covered by most health insurance plans. Offering health insurance benefits to employees could increase the number of workers willing to receive the vaccine.

Employers interested in learning about available health insurance plans should speak with an experienced employee benefit specialist. MEBO works with organizations in California to develop benefit plans, customized to the needs and goals of each organization.  Please contact us for information about our services or to schedule a consultation.

Choosing the Right Health Plan for Your Employees

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Many employers find it difficult to locate quality staff. Offering a good benefits package is an excellent way to attract top talent. While it isn’t necessary for most small businesses, offering an employee health plan increases employee satisfaction and improves employee retention rate.

ACA Rules Regarding Employee Benefits in California

Under current ACA rules, companies in California with fifty or more full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) must offer ACA-compliant healthcare coverage. Organizations that do not comply with this law could face a penalty of $2,570 per eligible full-time employee.

Part-time employees that work less than 30 hours per week are not entitled to health benefits under this law. However, organizations with several part-time employees may still need to provide health benefits to full-time staff members. Two part-time employees that each work an average of 15 hours per week is equal to one full-time equivalent employee.

Even though organizations with less than 50 full-time equivalent employees do not need to offer health coverage to comply with ACA rules, doing so provides numerous benefits. Employers that offer health benefits can deduct all premiums paid throughout the year. In addition to impressive tax write-offs, offering health benefits increases employee satisfaction, attracts quality candidates, and boosts productivity. When employees receive regular and preventative healthcare, they’re less likely to call out sick and experience major health problems in the future.

Fully Insured VS. Self-Funded Health Plans

When deciding on the type of employee benefits to offer, employers can choose between a fully insured health plan or a self-funded health plan. While a fully insured health plan costs the same each month, self-funding allows organizations to pay for only what they use.

Level funding is the most popular form of self-funding.  Taking a level-funded approach provides organizations with control over the frequency and severity of claims. This increases predictability and keeps costs low.  A level-funded health plan provides the same cost-savings and flexibility as a self-funded health plan, with the predictability and financial security of a fully insured health plan.  By purchasing stop loss insurance, organizations in a self-funded arrangement limit their exposure to risk. Stop loss insurance protects the organization from large or excessive claims. This reduces financial risk, increases control over spending, and provides peace of mind. With stop loss insurance, the employer knows there is a limit on what they could potentially spend each year.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of self-funding is the transparency it provides. Self-funding allows employers to see where the largest claims are coming from. They can then use supply chain management strategies to control costs, while improving health outcomes for their employees. Self-funding offers increased flexibility over fully insured plans, as employers can adjust their plan and approach to meet the changing needs of their organization.

Employers considering self-funding often worry about ACA compliance. Self-funded or self-insured plans are not subject to state insurance laws and are exempt from certain ACA rules. In order to ensure ACA compliance, employers need to file the ACA’s 1094-B and 1095-B series with their taxes.

Employee Health Plans

Although self-funded plans used to be reserved for California organizations with 100 employees or more, new strategies allow smaller companies to take advantage of the cost-savings, transparency, and control that self-funding offers. However, it’s important that leaders fully analyze their needs when deciding on the type of health plan to offer. Employers should consider speaking with an experienced employee benefit specialist for advice.

Located in Orange County, California, MEBO develops customized employee benefit plans that meet the unique needs and goals of our clients. We work directly with each of our clients throughout the entire process, helping them mitigate risk and keep costs low.

Please contact us for more information about our services.