Centene Promotes Employee COVID-19 Vaccination, Remote Work

In light of the Delta variant of COVID-19, Centene Corporation has taken steps to increase Centene employee coronavirus vaccination, boost education, and prepare for an increase in coronavirus testing.

"We are deeply committed to protecting our members and employees as the Delta variant continues its spread across the U.S., causing a new pandemic of the unvaccinated," said Michael Neidorff, chairman, president, and chief executive officer at Centene. 

"Our industry must be a leader in addressing vaccine hesitancy, especially to protect those who cannot safely receive the inoculation, such as young children and individuals with compromised immune systems. Key to this goal is a strong collaboration between the private and public sectors at the federal, state and local levels.”

The payer is enforcing vaccination among its employees by requiring proof of their coronavirus vaccination. Those who cannot receive the vaccine or decide not to receive it will have to be tested for COVID-19 regularly and wear masks while in the workplace.

Centene is also pushing back its deadline for returning to the workplace. Initially, the company aimed to have employees back to in-person work starting in mid-September. The deadline is now a couple of weeks later on October 1, 2021.

In-person member- and patient-facing employees and clinicians will have to be fully vaccinated in order to interact with those outside the company.

The company is closely following the federal government’s coronavirus safety policies for the in-person workplace due to its role as a payer that facilitates largely federal contracts related to Medicaid and Medicaid.

The payer will continue pursuing other strategies to drive up vaccination rates and public awareness, the press release shared. This includes a public service announcement initiative that may have influenced 10 million members or more. The payer also initiated a call campaign to engage members.

Additionally, Centene uses a machine-learning algorithm to help identify members that may want to take the coronavirus vaccine but are experiencing social determinants of health barriers including chronic conditions. The machine-learning platform also takes into account vaccination center placement as a social determinant of health.

The payer also partnered with Lyft to provide transportation to coronavirus vaccination appointments, as did other payers such as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (Blue Cross) and Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC).

The current efforts to increase vaccination rates among Centene employees will be coupled with existing policies meant to incentivize coronavirus safety practices in the workplace.

Centene was the highest-ranked payer employer in a Forbes and JustCapital assessment of corporate coronavirus responses, ranking number 13 out of 25 employers across various industries.

The payer offered its providers up to three months’ worth of paid leave to volunteer as healthcare workers in regions that were overwhelmed by the pandemic. Non-clinical employees had 10 days off for coronavirus-related paid leave and, if they did not need to use the extra time off, then they received $750.

According to the press release, Centene employees also could receive up to $1,000 in discounts on their health insurance premiums for wellness activities such as getting their coronavirus vaccine. Employees had zero cost-sharing for coronavirus screening, testing, treatment, or vaccination.

According to the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the Delta variant of the coronavirus could be twice as transmissible as the original strain of the coronavirus. 

It is still unclear whether the variant is more deadly, but it certainly has reapplied pressure on the healthcare community in the US. ASM reported that in mid-July the CDC’s seven-day average increase of coronavirus cases rose 69 percent and hospitalizations jumped up 35 percent.

Centene demonstrated that, as payers grapple with the new set of challenges that the variant brings, they are considering not only their members but their own employees in their response strategies.