- Choosing Benefits Employees Want Can Lower Costs - Vangelis Thomaidis/SXC
For most small business owners, choosing a small business health insurance plan that covers them and their employees is an overwhelming concept. Some just call a friend who is an insurance broker and ask for affordable health insurance coverage for themselves and don't even try to cover employees. Others try to get a health insurance policy for all their employees and are horrified by the cost of the one quote they receive. They give up the idea of getting coverage for employees and tell them they are sorry, but they are on their own.
Then, there there are the 1/3 of small business owners who do get plans for employees and believe it is a very worthwhile expense. (Survey of First National Federation of Small Businesses members by eHealthInsurance.com) For those who want to be in that last percentage, either because they feel like it is the right thing to do for loyal employees or because they don't want to lose valuable employees to weeks of sick time when a quick appointment could have headed off the illness, an overview of the different types of coverage available will come in handy.
Affordable Group Health Insurance
Group health insurance for small businesses can be fairly reasonable or quite expensive. The cost for a group policy depends on the number of employees and the age and health of each employee. This type of policy is a great employee benefit. Many employees consider this perk to be so valuable that they will keep a job that provides health coverage, even if it comes with a slightly lower salary and a bit less job satisfaction, instead of accepting a higher paying dream job without health benefits.
According to Sam Gibbs, a health insurance expert from eHealthinsurance.com, finding affordable group health insurance is a matter of deciding which health coverage options are important to employees and shopping around for quotes that include those options. "Five unmarried guys in an auto shop may not want maternity benefits. Employees in a hairdresser shop that are all in their 20's may not want a prescription drug plan because they can get $3 antibiotics at Walmart. By knowing employee needs and having a choice, you can find a plan you afford."
Personal Health Insurance Policies
Small business owners who don't have employees won't be able to apply for group insurance through their business. Instead, they'll need to get quotes for personal health insurance policies. If a business owner can't afford to pay for group health insurance, he or she can also help employees get quotes for personal health insurance policies.
Keep in mind that businesses cannot pay personal health insurance premiums for their employees. If they do, the insurers will consider them to be paying group health insurance premiums and will adjust their policy costs accordingly.
Health Savings Accounts and Other Health Care Products
While they aren't health insurance policies and don't provide comprehensive coverage, health savings accounts and discount plans have their place in the health insurance world.
Health savings accounts have tax advantages that make them very attractive to small business owners or employees who are young and healthy. Employers can choose to contribute to employee accounts or can let them fund their accounts on their own.
Depending on their scope, discount plans can allow employees without health insurance to at least take advantage of reduced fees for services, including hospital stays. While employers can help set up a plan for employees to take advantage of, employees are usually responsible for making the monthly payments for their discount plans.
Whether employers choose to simply help employees get access to a discount health plan or want to pay for group health insurance policies, making health benefits of some kind a priority is a smart idea. Employees usually value health benefits so much that they will pick a job with health insurance over a job with slightly higher pay or other perks so that they can have the peace of mind that medical coverage brings.
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Katelyn Thomas - If you can't find me in the spring, I'm out hiking through the wood with a few pounds of photography gear strapped to my back. In the ...
