Preparing for flu season
(September 30, 2010)
What you need to know about:
Priority Health's seasonal flu vaccine and treatment coverage
We understand it's important to keep your employees healthy, so we have made the following coverage decisions:
Vaccinations
- Members (and their dependents) with vaccine coverage will be eligible to receive the seasonal flu vaccine.
Go to the chart explaining what locations offering flu shots are covered - Members with vaccine coverage will pay no copays to obtain the vaccine at in-network providers, as well as at selected participating pharmacies. Use the Find a Doctor Tool.
- We will allow direct-to-member reimbursement for the vaccine cost at any out-of-network provider. (If members receive the vaccine from an out-of-network provider, copay/coinsurance may apply.)
- We're asking physicians to follow CDC vaccine guidelines so members most at risk from influenza are vaccinated first. To learn more visit flu.gov.
Note: A small group of employers do not have vaccination coverage and employees are not eligible for flu vaccine coverage.
Helping employees stay healthy and minimizing effects of employee absenteeism
Steps you can take to keep your employees healthy and your business running:
- Review and/or develop plans to maintain business continuity. These may include: reviewing business operations to identify minimum staffing requirements and key roles, encouraging cross-training of staff and exploring opportunities for employees to work from home if necessary.
- Send home employees who show signs of influenza-like illness. Encourage sick employees to stay home and allow flexible leave policies to enable employees to care for sick household members or children affected by school or daycare center closures. The CDC recommends that you do not require employees to present physician verification of illness so as not to strain the capacity of physician offices.
- Encourage workplace practices to limit the spread of disease. These can include frequent hand washing and/or use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers, covering coughs and sneezes and cleaning hard surfaces that come into physical contact with employees or customers. Consider providing well-placed reminder signs, tissues and touch-free waste receptacles to encourage good respiratory and hand hygiene.
Preparing a business plan for widespread flu outbreak
The CDC has developed extensive resources to help businesses plan and prepare for widespread influenza this fall and winter:
