Small Business and Health Insurance Options

Forty six million Americans die every year in the United States because they lack health insurance, making this the ninth leading cause of deaths in America over homicide, cancer, suicide and accidental deaths, which are the forerunners as the leading causes of death in the United States.

Many people simply cannot afford insurance on their own and don't work for employers who offer it. For smaller companies that have between two to fifty employees the cost to offer health insurance may have been out of reach previously. In certain states such as California employers were required to pay 50% of the medical insurance premium of every employee that had insurance through the company. This placed insurance out of reach for the mom and pop businesses even if they wanted to offer it.

New legislation has dropped that 50% requirement down to no more than 25%, excluding employers paying the premiums for employee dependents. This still helps to make health insurance more affordable and more viable option for the small business owner to offer to their employees.
Small businesses that offer health insurance reap the benefits and increase their profits as a result. For example absenteeism rates decrease and employees are more productive because they have the ability to seek health care when they need it and don't need to miss work or come to work sick and be unproductive.

When a small business can offer these perks their turnover rate decreases and their recruitment rate increases. This is definitely an incentive for many people to seek out certain employer and a definite reason many potential employees will pass on a company that doesn't offer health insurance.
If you are a small business owner considering bringing health insurance on board as a perk you need to know how to evaluate a plan in order to offer your employees the best plan possible first step is to look at what is covered and what isn't. Keep in mind the more that is covered the higher the premium rates will be. 

On the other hand you don't want an health insurance policy that covers basically nothing or it won't be worth anything to your employees. You should also look at what hospitals and doctors are included in the plan. A good plan will have a variety of doctors on board and will include at least the biggest area hospital as a resource. The next important aspect of any good plan includes what it will cost per employee and what if any co-payment amount the employee must pay at the time of their visit.

When you're looking at a plan, look at it from a perspective of your employee- can they build their own plan and avoid paying for services they don't want such as dental or vision care? If your employees are able to build your own package to suit their own individual needs, the plan will be more appealing and what is tissue they will be more likely to participate.