Health care is a fact of life – providing employee Health insurance can give your business a booster
Among the many lessons business owners have learned over the past couple of years of ‘the new normal,’ one of the more fundamental is that the good health of any business is tied to the good health and morale of its staff. Offering your employees Health Insurance benefits is not only a great way to ensure your team can consistently bring their A game to work, it also helps to make your business stand out in a competitive labor market.
Does My Company Need To Offer Health Insurance Benefits?
Under the Affordable Care Act, any business with 50 or more full-time (or equivalent) employees has to offer health insurance to full-time staff and their dependents under age 26 or risk facing a tax penalty. The IRS has begun reviewing past records, and businesses who chose not to follow this rule are starting to be hit with fines.
Beyond the regulatory considerations, there are a few other reasons why offering a quality health plan to your team is good for business:
- Tax benefits – The money your company pays towards monthly premiums for employee health insurance is all tax-deductible as ordinary business expenses. If you’re running a smaller operation, with 25 or fewer employees who make an average of $50k or less per year, you can also qualify for the Small Business Health Care tax credit, as long as you pay for 50% of the cost of premiums for each employee. Our agents can help you determine whether your business qualifies for this program and answer any questions you might have.
- Employee Recruitment and Retention – In a Blue Cross & Blue Shield survey, 78% or small business owners said offering health insurance increased loyalty and reduced turnover. An employee health plan can help save money on finding, onboarding, and training new staff. Some business owners have even reported that staff will accept slightly lower compensation if health benefits are included in said compensation.
- Reduce risk and absenteeism – Employees who have insurance are far more likely to seek treatment for health issues, which reduce the chances a particular health problem gets worse and pulls them out of work or begins to affect job performance. Healthy staff are also generally less likely to injure themselves on the job.
What Does it Cost?
The most significant expense of Group Health Insurance are the premiums paid to insurers – though, as noted above, those expenses are tax deductible.
Generally speaking, under most plans the annual cost of premiums is split between the employees and the business offering the plan, with the business paying between 50-80% of the premium. How much those premiums run depends on the plans you choose to offer and how much of that split you’re willing to take on. On average, small business owners who provide health insurance spend between $4,500 and $6,000 per employee per year.
If you’re ready to take the first step toward offering health benefits to your team, our agents are here to help you find Group Health Insurance plans, compare them, and find options that are affordable for both your business and your staff.