Health insurance study reveals the true feelings of employers

health insurance for small business

The results of recent research provide insight into the way that companies feel about providing coverage to workers.

Even though the cost of medical care has been continuing to rise and the pressure from the Affordable Care Act is ever present in the air, employers continue to think of health insurance for their employees as a high priority.

The health care reform has added some new requirements that will be impacting many smaller businesses.

The study results have indicated that while the priority of employee health insurance remains high, the coverage that will be provided may grow a little bit slimmer over the years to come. The poll was conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. It discovers that companies that offer health plans to their employees view those benefits as a central tool for appealing to talented workers as well as to keep them from seeking work elsewhere.

However, the expense of providing health insurance is now becoming the main issue behind plan selection.

health insurance for small businessAs much as employers value what health benefits bring their employees, they are starting to feel the pinch of the expense associated with this coverage. In the study, 86 percent of the companies that participated said that the cost of a health plan is a main factor in selecting it. When the businesses were asked to identify a single factor that determined the decision that they made with regards to health coverage, cost was cited more than any other option.

However, at the same time, the cost of the insurance plan to the company isn’t the only monetary issue that is considered by employers. They also think about the burden to their employees. Approximately 8 out of every 10 companies said that they took the cost of premiums into consideration. Moreover, 7 in 10 said that out of pocket expenses and deductibles were also a factor that they considered.

At the same time that there are expenses associated with offering health insurance, companies are also becoming aware of the fact that it can simply make good business sense for them to offer these employee benefits. They receive a tax break when they offer coverage to their workers and, depending on the size of the company, offering the coverage could also help it to avoid being required to pay a health care reform mandated fine for failing to offer a health plan.

One Thought to “Health insurance study reveals the true feelings of employers”

  1. Leah Bergersen

    Hi Gloria,

    Great article. What do you think about the trend of businesses canceling plans all together and giving employees money to buy on the health exchange?

    The new book, “The End of Employer-Provided Health Insurance” explains how some employers are already doing this and saving money, but are still competitive in employee benefits.

    Best,

    Leah Bergersen

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