Small Employers
1. Consider Coverage
Potentially better health, better productivity, better recruitment and retention.
Should your business offer group health coverage for employees? We encourage you to think strategically about the answer. Here are seven questions to consider as you contemplate offering group health coverage to your employees.
1. Would group health coverage help you recruit and retain high quality workers?
Employees consider health insurance to be the most important fringe benefit. Offering health coverage attracts the best applicants. Employees tend to be happier and more satisfied with their jobs when they are offered group insurance. Employees with valuable health coverage are less likely to leave your employ.
2. Would group health coverage help increase worker productivity?
Healthy workers are present workers. Health coverage helps keep your workforce healthy and productive.
3. Would group health coverage reduce your firm's tax burden?
The group health insurance premiums your firm pays are a fully tax-deductible business expense. Also, health insurance payments are excluded from base payroll when calculating the employer share of Medicare and Social Security payments. An equivalent amount paid in wages would be subject to Medicare and Social Security taxes. You might think of these tax benefits as a discount to the cost of health insurance.
4. Would group health coverage reduce your employees' tax burden?
Employees may make their premium contributions on a pre-tax basis through payroll deductions, which makes coverage more affordable for them.
5. Would group health coverage help reduce premium costs for you and your employees?
Health insurance acquired under group rates is often (though not always) less expensive than rates available in the individual market.
6. Would group health coverage help you expand your range of coverage options?
In most markets there are many options available for group coverage. By exploring all of these options, you might find unexpected price differences.
7. Would group health coverage give you better access to health care when you need it?
There are real and consequential differences in access to health care between those with insurance and those without.
