Is offering employees health insurance good for business

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Is Offering Employees Health Insurance Good for
Business?
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• Small business owners arent required by law to
  provide health insurance to their employees. The
  Affordable Care Act (ACA) stipulates that only
  large businesses with 50 or more full-time
  employees must offer the benefit or pay a
  penalty.
• As a business owner, you know that healthier
  employees are happier employees. Payroll is
  likely your single largest expense, and
  recruiting new employees eats up additional time,
  money, and patience. The name of the game isnt
  simply to attract the best talent, but
  to retain it. This becomes especially true if
  your business is in a highly competitive
  industry. Offering health insurance is one way to
  attract and keep the best people. If youre not
  offering it, chances are one of your competitors
  is.  

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• You may have considered offering health
  insurance, but found the process to be too
  complicated, or too expensive. The fact is when
  you own a small business every year is an
  adventure, and every small decision can have a
  big impact on your bottom line. Your margins are
  thinner than those of your big business
  counterparts. There are more constraints on your
  resources, too. If your company spends more on
  benefits than it brings in, you arent giving
  your employees a perkyou are putting their very
  jobs in danger.  
• Its important for small business owners to
  remember that the costs associated with providing
  health insurance arent confined to just the
  benefits. Employers that provide health benefits
  must stay current with a host of complex,
  confusing laws and restrictions. Complying with
  these requirements typically involves the
  services of paid advisor or attorney. You guessed
  it that costs money.  

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The Pros Boost Morale, Foster Loyalty, and Save
Money Too

• Benefits boost productivity. Says one small
  business owner from a recent article in the
  Washington Examiner, I want my employees to
  havecoverage so that they can focus on work and
  not worry about their health insurance.
  Translation A worry free worker is a more
  productive one. Remove the health insurance
  consideration from your employees minds, and
  their productivity will rise accordingly.
• Benefits bolster morale. As mentioned above, a
  robust benefits package that includes health
  insurance helps businesses attract and retain the
  best employees. Quality employees give any
  business a competitive edge.

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•  The loyalty factor. Employees who believe the
  boss is invested in their welfare are more
  likely to reciprocate the feeling. This
  translates not just to increased productivity,
  but also decreased absenteeism, a better overall
  attitude at the workplace, and less employee
  turnover, all of which are exceedingly good for
  the bottom line.
• Businesses with fewer than 25 full time employees
  that offer health insurance can deduct up to 50
  percent of the cost of their employees premiums
  through the Small Business Health Care Tax
  Credit. Thats a nice arrangement, though, as the
  saying goes, certain restrictions apply To
  qualify you must pay at least half of your
  employees total health insurance premium costs
  and pay average annual wages below 50,000.

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•  Providing benefits may strengthen your
  bargaining power. Evidence suggests that
  employees may be willing to accept better
  benefits in lieu of a higher salary. Minimally,
  this can help offset the cost of offering
  benefits in the first place. It may even save
  your business money.
• The small business provisions of the Affordable
  Care Act incentivize employer-funded benefits.
  Small businesses may benefit from some of the
  ACAs collective perks, such as access to health
  insurance marketplaces and certain exemptions.

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The Cons Too Costly, Too Confusing, Too
Complicated

•  Health insurance is an additional expense for
  businesses to shoulder. Moreover, with premium
  rates subject to change on an annual basis, its
  never the same expense twice. This can complicate
  budgeting, planning, and forecasting.   

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• The playing field is uneven. Providing health
  insurance for employees can cost more for small
  employers because they lack the purchasing power
  of their big business counterparts. Without any
  weight to throw around, small businesses end up
  paying more than larger corporations for the same
  coverage.

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• Small business owners claim providing health
  insurance inadvertently encourages
  discrimination. Because the ACA bases the price
  of coverage on age, it becomes considerably
  cheaper to hire younger employees. According to
  the Examiner article, hiring a single,
  25-year-old worker would cost 385.57 per month
  for their insurance versus 1,046.44 for a
  single, 60-year-old. Thats a large disparity,
  and it can impact hiring practices.
• Painful compliance headaches. Staying current
  with state and federal employment laws can result
  in a pile of legal fees. Worse, mistakes can lead
  to costly lawsuits or regulatory fines.

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Insurance Company

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