How being unvaccinated against Covid-19 can impact your wallet

Some people are still holding off getting vaccinated against Covid-19, even as mandates increase for the immunization.

Those who aren’t yet vaccinated have been barred from some restaurants, travel and more. There could also be significant financial costs for those that have not yet gotten their shots.

Of course, incentives and mandates have worked to help raise the country’s vaccination rate. For example, United Airlines, which mandated that its employees receive the Covid-19 vaccine this summer, now has a nearly 100% worker vaccination rate.

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And, more guidelines are coming — the Biden Administration said it will require all employers with 100 or more workers to ensure they are vaccinated or tested weekly. It will also require all federal workers and contractors and health-care workers to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

Here’s how being unvaccinated will hit your wallet.

Employment

Many employers are now mandating that workers be vaccinated against Covid-19 and are laying off employees that refuse to get their shot.

Airlines such as United, Southwest, American, JetBlue and Alaska have required vaccinations. This week, Northwell Health, New York state’s largest health-care system, laid off 1,400 workers who didn’t get vaccinated against Covid-19.

“The biggest cost is losing your job,” said Cynthia Cox, vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation and director for the program on the Affordable Care act. “That’s become an issue that more people face as more and more employers implement vaccine mandates.”

In some cases, mandates even extend to family members. A health system in Louisiana said this week that it would charge workers an additional $200 per month to insure their unvaccinated spouses or partners.  

Insurance

Other companies are taking a different approach and passing the cost of higher insurance onto employees who remain unvaccinated.

Delta Air Lines, for example, hasn’t mandated that employees get the Covid-19 vaccine — it’s the only major carrier not to have such a requirement — but will make unvaccinated workers pay an additional $200 per month.

There could be additional insurance costs on the horizon. Many health insurance providers already assess a surcharge for smokers, which they could do for those who remain unvaccinated.

Medical costs

There will also be a higher price tag on medical treatment for Covid-19 going forward , and it’s more likely to hit the unvaccinated, who now account for about 97% of those hospitalized for the illness.

In the early days of the pandemic, most major insurers waived payments for coronavirus treatment. Now, those…