It has been over a month since the Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced the development of an Employer COVID-19 Testing Playbook to help business owners as the pandemic continues.
Saying testing is moving towards a shared public-private responsibility, Lyon County Public Health says businesses affected by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s federal rule to test unvaccinated employees on a weekly basis will not get those done at Public Health or Flint Hills Community Health Center if the rule withstands numerous legal challenges. That rule also includes mandatory vaccinations for all employees in businesses with at least 100 workers.
KDHE announced the playbook in late October, saying the document is designed to inform business owners about the process including types of available tests and how they are administered, management policies for employees that develop COVID infections, available vendors who can help businesses with testing and insurance-reimbursable test options.
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s office says employers and health insurance companies will increasingly be asked to pay for COVID-19 testing until full vaccination becomes more commonplace. Public Health agrees, saying the wide availability of free vaccines has started to change the role and the responsibility of testing in the workplace. With COVID expected to continue in the population like influenza, Public Health says employers can be expected to bear the costs of their testing programs.
