Why You Should Offer Group Health Insurance:

As a small business owner, if you have more than two employees, you are required to offer them a group health insurance plan. Aside from legal requirements, there are several reasons why it makes sense to offer this option to your employees. Let’s look at what this addition to your employee’s benefit package can do for your company.

Increase Your Employee Satisfaction. With high turnover rates going up across the United States, finding ways to keep your employees are becoming even more important. If you can offer your employees a great group health insurance plan, they are more likely to stay with your company, instead of shopping around for a better deal. Employees have to deal with rising health care costs, just like you do. This factor can mean that if they are not getting the type or amount of coverage that they need in your employ, they may try to find it elsewhere.

In addition to offering a group health plan, if you can find one that offers flexible options for your employees, that can be very helpful. These plans are also referred to as cafeteria style group health plans and they allow your employees to select the type of coverage they need, whether it is an HMO plan or a PPO plan, and they are not forced to pay for more or less coverage than they need.

Stay Competitive. Attracting new employees can be cutthroat, particularly in some industries. If you have reached the end of your rope in what you can offer for benefits, offering a group health plan that has more features than your competition can make your company more desirable to new applicants.

When you advertise for new job openings, you should mention that you do offer a group health plan and state why it is beneficial for your employees. This can be a powerful marketing tool to attract new applicants and stay ahead of your competition.

Tax Benefits. As a small business owner, you are allowed to write off 100% of the premiums that you pay for your group health insurance plan. This can mean a significant savings for your company and allows you to have the ability to offer the best group health plans for your employees, and still reap some benefits of your own.

Health savings accounts also offer tax benefits not only for employers but for their employees. If your group health plan is HSA eligible, you should advertise this fact so that your employees know that they can take advantage of these benefits. You may want to consider holding a meeting for your employees to educate them on the tax savings that a health savings account can offer, and get in touch with some of the HSA administrative companies that can assist your employees.

Show Your Employees You Care. Having an employer that is concerned about their welfare can go a long way towards forming a trust bond with your employees. By offering them a group health insurance plan, you can show them that you do care for their wellbeing and that you want to help them get the health coverage they need.

Once you start offering a group health plan for your employees, you will need to take some time to inform your employees of their new benefit options. If your insurance company has a representative in your area, you may be able to schedule a presentation that will walk your employees through all of the different coverage types that are available to them and what they can expect from their plan.

Even though you are legally required to offer a group health plan, as you can see, there are many other reasons why a group health plan can make your business run smoothly, make your employees happier and save you money at the same time.


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