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Should You Offer Employees Health Care Benefits?

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Should You Offer Employees Health Care Benefits?

Health care benefits are optional for most employers, but of critical importance to most employees. Employers should be aware of the pros and cons of offering health benefits to their employees.
Benefits are a critical piece of an employee compensation package, and health care benefits are the crown jewel. Health care benefits, along with time-off benefits, are the most popular of benefits to employees. Every employer must at least consider whether to offer these types of benefits and in some cases employers must offer health care in order to remain competitive with other businesses for the most talented employees. Another reason why many employers choose to offer health care benefits is …show more content…

Pros and Cons of Offering Health Care Benefits
There are a number of advantages to offering health benefits to your workers. Here are a few of the major ones:
• Attract and retain the most qualified employees. Whether health insurance is absolutely necessary to attract and retain the most qualified employees will depend upon factors such as whether your competitors or other similarly sized employers in your area are offering health insurance.
• Gain tax advantages. You can offer employees something that increases their compensation package and yet allows you an income tax deduction for the contribution, so that your out-of-pocket cost is less than the value of the benefit to the employee. Self-employed individuals can deduct 100 percent of their health insurance premium costs as a business expense in 2003 and thereafter. You can always deduct 100 percent of premiums for your employees. If the business is incorporated, all costs for your own insurance as well as your employees ' is deductible.
• Offer employees group purchasing power. Even if you decide not to contribute anything toward your employees ' health insurance, you can offer them the opportunity to obtain group rates through your business.
• Ensure the wellness of your workers. Insurance plans offer preventative care that can keep employees healthy and working. If employees don 't get preventative care and yearly physicals (which

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