Tory Summey was quoted in Health Payer Specialist on employer vaccination policies for COVID-19. He noted that if businesses want to make the vaccine mandatory for their employees, they must allow reasonable accommodations. 

"Telework is going to be the No. 1 way to accommodate someone if it’s a mandatory policy,” Tory said. 

He also explained that companies should take into account how many of their employees are working from home. "There’s less of a strong argument to require the vaccine if you can work effectively remotely," he said. 

In addition, Tory discussed what kinds of incentives businesses can offer their employees to get vaccinated. "An incentive can’t be so great it’s unreasonable to decline it,” but the federal government has not made entirely clear what would count as unreasonable, he said. Until further guidance comes out, Tory said offering employees PTO to get the vaccine may be a safer choice than a cash bonus. 

Subscribers can read the full article here: Payers Grapple with How to Vaccinate Employees.

Health Payer Specialist serves an audience of executives and other professionals in the health insurance industry.