Max Nisen, Columnist

Can Delta Air Lines Make Unvaccinated Workers Pay Up?

The airline is the first major corporation to say it will slap a big health-insurance surcharge on workers who haven’t had their Covid-19 shots. Is this a good idea?

August 25, 2021 at 1:32 PM EDT

By Max Nisen

Max Nisen is a healthcare analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. He previously wrote for Bloomberg Opinion, Quartz and Business Insider.

Even if Delta Air Lines can charge unvaccinated employees extra for health coverage, should it? — Even if Delta Air Lines can charge unvaccinated employees extra for health coverage, should it?
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg

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Delta Air Lines Inc. announced Wednesday that it would impose a $200 monthly surcharge on employees who aren’t inoculated against Covid-19, pioneering an alternative to the vaccine mandates issued by other corporations as they seek to limit the spread of the highly contagious delta variant while reopening. Here, Max Nisen — who covers health care and the pharmaceutical industry for Bloomberg Opinion — answers questions about Delta’s move. The conversation has been edited and condensed.

Why is Delta doing this?