Tag: pandemic

3 years later and the day many of us have dreamt of is on the calendar

Since March 2020, we have all been waiting. Waiting to go back to normal, as the months went on, we were waiting to leave our homes for more than a grocery run; then we were waiting for mask mandates to be lifted, and now the last straw is that the state of emergency is set to be lifted this May. Over the past nearly four years, there have been moments we wouldn’t see this day for many years, but now that we are here, what does it mean? As we still have about a month to go, there is a lot of speculation regarding how the lift will change our new normal—the New York Times reported on the subject defining the situation as “confusing” as such. Here is how we expect the state of emergency lifting should affect you based on your insurance. 

Not insured 

During the state of emergency in some states, those without coverage have received temporary Medicaid coverage for tests, treatments, and vaccines, which could end in May.

On Medicaid

Those on Medicaid can access covid tests and treatments at no cost until 2024 due to the American Rescue Plan. 

On Medicare

Thanks to the CARES Act, medicare members can still obtain free covid vaccines; however, you may have to pay copays for therapies like antivirals and tests ordered by doctors. 

Private insurance

The most significant change for most people will be they can no longer be eligible for eight free at-home covid tests each month through their insurance. 

 

This next “Normal” phase is new territory, especially for the healthcare industry. While the state of emergency lifting is a sign of Covid being in our rearview mirrors, staying updated with vaccines and boosters for the whole family remains vital. Physicians still recommend wearing masks and getting tested when you are under the weather. 

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The Great Resignation?

The Great Resignation was a rumbling that began amid the pandemic and has grown exponentially. With millions of people resigning from their jobs and opting into the gig economy, where they can work from home, have more say over their worth, and be in control of their work-life balance. I sat with our co-founder Christian Stearns to discuss this phenomenon and what it means for business owners and employers.

Christian explained that he considers the great resignation a misnomer and that he feels this phenomenon should be called the Great Realignment, as it’s more than people just leaving their jobs. Its employees realizing and acting upon what they need to have a high quality of life. Amidst the pandemic, we as a society discovered we can measurably work from home, and in eliminating the time of a commute and the physical distance between the office and your family, it’s not surprising many do not want to go back to the old way of business, in the office, 9-5. Thus employees left in search of employers willing to provide them with the lifestyles they became accustomed to during the pandemic. 

Many of you experienced this first hand, so I asked Christian how we could take this sour realignment and make sweet lemonade. His response was for business owners and employers to take a step back, recognize the need to give to get, the need for flexibility and that employment is not the one-way street it may have once been. More than flexibility, employers need to provide value to their employees. In this new wave with a booming gig economy where many work multiple part-time gigs or freelance for many companies providing access to benefits can be the differentiator. 

As much as the move to the gig economy has given employees a new kind of freedom, in many ways, it has also created a massive vulnerability as part-time, and contract workers seldom qualify for benefits and insurance coverage. Filling this gap and covering this vulnerability can make all the difference when retaining talent, whether in the form of contract workers or even your full-time staff. The workforce is full of under-benefitted, and downright un benefited workers. The truth is that health workers lead to a healthy business, and we help make employees HealthEE.