Could Cancelling Group Health Insurance Be a Kindness to Employees?

May 16 01:00 2016 by ushadmin

Small business owners who offer health insurance – or who are considering offeringZane Benefits | Could Cancelling Insurance Be a Kindness to Employees? health benefits – have an important question to consider: which type of benefit will be the best for the company and employees?

Traditional business sense says offering a group health insurance plan is the best way to go, but here’s something to consider – cancelling (or not offering) group health insurance may be a kindness to employees, and to your small business’s bottom line.

Why? According to a recent Forbes article, there are three main reasons.

Escalating Costs of Group Health Insurance Premiums

Over the past 15 years, the cost of group health insurance premiums has increased over 200 percent – far outpacing inflation and wages. Today, the average total cost to cover an employee is $6,251 a year for single coverage (2015) and $17,545 a year for family coverage.

Meanwhile, individual health insurance has become more accessible and more affordable. In many states individual health insurance costs up to 60 percent less for similar coverage.

As such, it is a kindness to allow employees (and the business) to save on the cost of health insurance.

Health Insurance Subsidies

For many small business employees and owners, the health insurance subsidies make individual health insurance even more affordable.

How affordable? For those eligible, the average out-of-pocket premium payment was less than $100 in 2015. Those who make approximately $47,000 (single) or $97,000 (family of four) are eligible.

But of course, an employee is only eligible for these discounts if he or she does not have access to affordable group health insurance through an employer.

As such, it can be a kindness for small businesses not to offer group health insurance to allow employees – and their families – access to the health insurance subsidies…