Here’s a good read from industry journal Benefits Pro that examines some recent research on how much unvaccinated people are costing the health system — and employers who pay a big part of the tab for health insurance — due to preventable COVID hospitalizations. “Only a small share of the cost of a COVID-19 hospitalization is paid directly by patients themselves,” the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker report said. “In our analysis of privately insured patients hospitalized with pneumonia, the typical out-of-pocket payment was about $1,300. That is a significant amount for most patients to pay, but it is far less than the amount covered by public and private insurance coverage.” Through wellness programs, employers could impose higher costs for workers who forgo getting immunized. Private insurers also have begun reinstating cost-sharing for COVID-19 hospitalizations.