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
An employee can help reduce the cost of health cost by doing several things. There has been an outcry from organizations due to the rising number of competitors with high expenses catering for health benefits during employment periods and on retiring. The employee can be of great help by being participative in the programs set by their employers to benefit more from other advantages far from health costs (Kerzner, 2013). Some of the choices an employee may consider to help control health costs are by boosting consumerism, use technology to manage benefits, and indulge in fitness and health programs.
Solutions: Business health insurance is a major cost of doing business, especially for small companies as groceries. With premiums soaring, many small business owners are asking their employees to shoulder more of the financial burden or cutting benefits entirely. Grocery health insurance may take a huge chunk out of the revenue, but benefits often attract better employees and help retain existing workers. Satisfied, healthy employees are more likely to help your business grow. As a mediator that struggling to provide health insurance, the following solutions can reduce the small business health insurance benefits and costs.
Offer a competitive benefits package that fits your employees’ needs. Providing health insurance, life insurance and a retirement-savings plan is essential in retaining employees and bonuses. But other perks, such as flextime and the option of telecommuting, go a long way to show employees you are willing to accommodate their outside lives.
Employers should offer affordable( employee premium less than 9.5% of employee’s wages) and of minimum value( employers must pay at least 60% of insurance cost) healthcare benefits to their employees depending on factors like number of FTE, number of employees receiving premium tax credits and other complex measurements to calculate the amounts. Employers should also notify employees by written about State exchanges, and advise them that if an employee decides to purchase a health Plan through an exchange, they may lose the employers’
(e) Ensuring Free Choice. Workers who cannot afford the coverage provided by their employer may take whatever funds their employer might have contributed to their insurance and use these resources to help purchase a more affordable plan in the new health insurance exchanges.
Health care coverage can be obtained from many different sources. The most common source is through employer-based insurance. The coverage offered to employees through a group health plan can benefit the employees as well as the business. According to Small Business Majority (2017), purchasing a group policy will allow the employees to have better access to care, which results in healthier employees. In addition, being more affordable and having the sense that medical expenses would not be as expensive if they did not have insurance (Small Business Majority, 2017). Finally, tax benefits that businesses may receive for paying at least half of the employee's premiums, according to Small Business Majority (2017). These benefits assist in creating a healthier atmosphere in a business.
Despite the high cost of premiums and the cost of administering the benefit, small employers state many important business reasons for offering health insurance coverage to its employees. Most say they provide health benefits because it helps with employee recruitment, increases employee loyalty, and decreases turnover. They also note that these benefits positively affect employee attitude, performance, and health. The most important reason for offering health insurance coverage, small employers say, is that "it is the right thing to do." The most significant reason for a small business employer's decision not to offer health benefits however is the skyrocketing costs.
If one specific job entitles healthcare while others do not, this means people are more likely to stay with that job and not move to another position, [3].
Without a good plan and package, you are unlikely to get the quality of employee that you desire. The ACA has had a considerable impact in this area. Affordable Care Act (ACA) for short, is the new health care reform law in America and is often called by its nick-name Obamacare. The Affordable Care Act helps to reform the healthcare system by giving more Americans access to quality, affordable health insurance and helps to curb the growth of healthcare spending in the U.S. The law spreads risk equally (by mandates) to all insured to end discrimination. The minimum standard of care was also mandated. Many preventative treatments and diagnostic procedures are now standard and
Moreover, the benefits of expanding coverage outweigh the costs for added services. [4] Safety-net care from hospitals and clinics improves access to care but does not fully substitute for health insurance. These findings are supported by much research, although some cautions are appropriate in using these results. People with health insurance are protected against uncertain and high medical expenses and are more likely to receive needed and appropriate health care. In addition, having health insurance is associated with improved health outcomes and lower mortality, so employees with health insurance are more likely to be productive workers. You do not pay income tax on health insurance benefits so it is more valuable per dollar than the same amount in taxable pay. [5]
One of the must have necessities of a human being is the provision of sound health care and every government, both national or local is obligated to offer this essential service to all the citizens without favor or any discrimination of any kind. Where else it is paramount that every employer to make sure the health and the safety of the employees are given the first priory. This will make sure the employees who are injured during the work are taken care of, and they are relieved the burden of the cost of health care. Thus, it is common to find most companies get the services of insurance companies and other organizations which provide health care programs for workers such as IndUShealth to make sure the welfare of the employees is in safe
Most health care analyst believes that health benefits provided by employers are provided as part of the overall compensation paid to workers. Because of the rising cost of the health care benefits, employers’ shares of
National Health Care System benefits employers by lowering their current health care costs. Companies need the National Health Care System now more
Chapter conclusion: Benefits for employees are very important for companies. Benefits for employees include various insurance plans, paid vacation days, paid sick leave, paid days off, etc. Different companies need to establish different benefit plans based on their company conditions. In brief, benefit in one of the bridge between employers and employees.
Employee benefits are a tool used by businesses to attract potential applicants, improve employee satisfaction, reduce turnover and maintain competition. Benefits that most employers offer include, but are not limited to, medical and dental coverage, time away from work, retirement, and additional assistance during life changing events. The majority of employers in the United States offer benefits to their employees and include an annual enrollment yearly to select benefits and make any needed changes.