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What We’re Reading: Delta Air Lines Charges Unvaccinated Employees; Pentagon Requires Vaccines; Mental Health Merger
Delta Air Lines raises health insurance premiums for employees not vaccinated against COVID-19; the Pentagon requires all active-duty service members to receive a COVID-19 vaccine; 2 mental health giants merge into 1 company worth $3 billion.
Delta Air Lines Charges $200 for Employees Without COVID-19 Vaccine
According to a report from CNBC, Delta Air Lines announced that employees will face a $200 monthly increase on their health insurance premiums beginning November 1 if they have not received a vaccine against COVID-19. The company self-insures its employees, and the increased premiums for unvaccinated employees will be used to cover employees who are hospitalized with COVID-19. In addition to increased premiums, unvaccinated employees will also be subject to indoor masking effective immediately and weekly COVID-19 tests beginning September 12. Delta’s policy comes short of the outright vaccination mandates imposed by competitor United Airlines.
Pentagon Requires Pfizer Vaccine Following FDA Approval
In light of Pfizer and BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine becoming the first to receive full approval from the FDA, the Pentagon ordered all active-duty service members to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to Reuters. The Pentagon ordered the military to start the process immediately but has not yet specified a deadline for it to be completed. The military has said that around half of the US armed forces are already fully vaccinated. The news also comes as the CDC adds that vaccination against COVID-19 will be added to the list of required vaccines for applicants to obtain permanent residence and refugee status, as reported by the National Law Review.
Mental Health Giants Merge Into $3 Billion Company
Two prominent companies in the mental health space, Headspace and Ginger, have announced plans for a merger, according to STAT News. The new company will be called Headspace Health and will have a reported value of $3 billion, making it one of the top companies fighting to own a significant share of the mental health market. Headspace and Ginger both offer complementary services that will allow Headspace Health to address a wide spectrum of patient needs and will potentially make employers and health plans more willing to purchase its services. The companies claim to cover a combined 100 million people around the world and have seen growth over the course of the pandemic as employers increase their ability to offer mental health services to their employees.
Urticaria Diagnosis Challenged by Overlapping Pruritic Skin Conditions
April 23rd 2025Urticaria is complicated to diagnose by its symptomatic overlap with other skin conditions and the frequent misclassification in literature of distinct pathologies like vasculitic urticaria and bullous pemphigus.
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New Research Challenges Assumptions About Hospital-Physician Integration, Medicare Patient Mix
April 22nd 2025On this episode of Managed Care Cast, Brady Post, PhD, lead author of a study published in the April 2025 issue of The American Journal of Managed Care®, challenges the claim that hospital-employed physicians serve a more complex patient mix.
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Personalized Care Key as Tirzepatide Use Expands Rapidly
April 15th 2025Using commercial insurance claims data and the US launch of tirzepatide as their dividing point, John Ostrominski, MD, Harvard Medical School, and his team studied trends in the use of both glucose-lowering and weight-lowering medications, comparing outcomes between adults with and without type 2 diabetes.
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ACOs’ Focus on Rooting Out Fraud Aligns With CMS Vision Under Oz
April 23rd 2025Accountable care organizations (ACOs) are increasingly playing the role of data sleuths as they identify and report trends of anomalous billing in hopes of salvaging their shared savings. This mission dovetails with that of CMS, which under the new administration plans to prioritize rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.
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