Even Small Businesses Need Employee Health Benefits

Health insurance can be one of the most expensive parts of running a business. When you’re a small business and have to operate on a tight budget, offering employee health benefits can seem like a heavy burden, leaving you questioning whether such an investment is the best use of your funds. While providing health benefits isn’t mandatory until your business has at least fifty employees on payroll, businesses of any size need employee health benefits. Here’s why.

Employee health benefits can help you attract the right talent. Those seeking a business where they can grow their career want to know they’ll be supported with the right benefits. Those with in-demand skills typically know their worth and are looking for employment opportunities that can offer the full package. Because hiring the right people early on sets the tone for your small business’s culture for years to come, impacting the quality of future hires down the road, it could be worth every penny to attract ace players with appealing benefits today.

Employee health benefits can help decrease turnover. The employees you currently have may be more likely to stay if they know they have health coverage. Health benefits are something that most employees don’t just want from an employer, but expect. Eighty-three percent of employees said health insurance is very or extremely important in deciding whether to stay in or change jobs. Given that turnover can be extremely costly for employees, consider doing all you can to keep your current employees hired and happy.

Healthy employees are productive employees. One of the most fundamental reasons to offer your team members health benefits? It keeps them healthier! People are more likely to go to the doctor when they have insurance to help cover the cost. This includes doctor’s visits for both preventative and remedial care. The more your employees can mitigate sickness or the faster they can recover, the more time they have to act as contributing members of the team.

Coverage Options: How to Pay for It?

To keep expenses in check, you can offer health benefits just to employees, rather than extend coverage to their families. As a small business, offering full family coverage may be something that doesn’t fit within your budget any way you slice it. That’s okay. Offering individual health benefits still shows you’re invested in your employees.

You also don’t have to cover all the expense of employee health benefits yourself as the business. There are a number of businesses that only partially cover benefits, and pass along the rest of the cost to the employee. However, it’s worth noting that the employers must pay a minimum of 10% of the aggregate cost.

If your small business doesn’t currently offer employee health benefits, now is a great time to consider your options as you plan for your next fiscal year. Most companies extend health benefit enrollment to their employees near the end of the calendar year.

For guidance on employee health benefits for your small business, reach out to the insurance experts at Schechner Lifson Corporation today!