Small Business Health Care Coverage Options

Small businesses generally do not have the resources to provide their employees with the quality or amount of benefits offered by larger companies. As a result, many small businesses are unable to offer their employees health insurance. This is unfortunate, as access to quality and affordable health care can improve employee productivity and reduce absenteeism and turnover rates. In an era when cutting costs is the norm, small businesses need to be creative to offer their employees a health insurance plan. Here are a few employee health insurance options small business owners have:

1. Medical Savings Program

The first health care coverage option that small businesses have is to set up a medical savings program for their employees. These savings accounts can be set up in many states as a pretax dollar account. This means that the money that is deposited in the health care savings account is not taxed. This savings program can be set up in a number of ways. For example, the employee can automatically deposit a set amount of money into each employee's account each pay period to help off-set the cost of health care, or the employer can match what the employee deposits up to a set percentage of the employee's wages.

2. Group Health Care Plans

Another option is to create a small business cooperative that will increase the number of employees that are participating in the health care plan. This can help small businesses with small employee populations qualify for lower cost group plans. It is important to talk with your health insurance agent about this possibility, as some companies do prohibit this type of cooperative. Others, however, will not only allow it, but they may also have groups that you can join.

3. Look for Industry Specific Health Coverage Options

Sometimes you can find a group rate for your employees by taking advantage of professional organization group health insurance plans. These programs can be offered by unions or other professional organizations. For this scenario, it may be necessary for each employee to individually apply for the coverage through the organization.

4. Prevention Benefits

If your company cannot afford to offer health care coverage to your employees, then explore the costs associated with preventative benefits. These benefits will focus on preventing health problems and on improving the overall health of your employees. For example, you can install a mini-gym in your business so that employees can work out on their breaks or during down time. You can hold health seminars and offer free healthy snacks and lunches. You can also offer your employees a free gym membership, and you can work with local health agencies to conduct health screenings at your office. All of these efforts can help prevent common health problems from developing, thereby lowering your employee's need for expensive medical care.

Sources:

http://www.ehow.com/list_6691952_affordable-health-insurance-options.html