In light of recent events with the economy, small business owners have many things to consider when managing their business finances. One of those considerations is providing health benefits to their employees. Providing health and dental benefits can be costly; however, surveys consistently show that insufficient availability of health benefits is second only to bad working conditions as the reason that employees change jobs voluntarily. It's a fact that companies with health benefits have higher employee retention rates. While the cost of healthcare and health insurance continues to rise and businesses are looking to reduce their overall costs, small business owners are confronted with the dilemma of providing affordable benefits.
Consumer-driven healthcare plans are an increasingly popular option in the healthcare industry, especially among small and medium size businesses. The basic concept behind consumer-driven healthcare is that although deductibles will be higher, monthly premiums will be significantly less, therefore substantially reducing healthcare costs over the long run. In fact, a new survey by employee-benefit advisory company, United Benefit Advisors, Inc., shows that the total number of consumer-driven plans has increased this year by 43%, now accounting for 13% of all plans offered by employers. Since monthly premiums are considerably less than traditional insurance, it allows employers to provide benefits to their employees while saving them substantial amounts of money. They can be set up as contributory or non-contributory plans and can be offered to both full time and part time employees, unlike traditional insurance, where the cost of providing benefits to part time employees would be prohibitive.
The various benefits of discount plans over traditional insurance are many. For example, there is typically no waiting period, no limit on the number of services or visits, no age restrictions or physicals, no paperwork or claims, and ongoing medical conditions are accepted. In many cases, especially with dental insurance, consumers could pay less for services received with discount plans than with conventional insurance due to plan limitations, deductibles and caps.
For small and medium size business owners looking to provide affordable benefits for their employees or are simply looking to reduce costs, discount plans are an option worth looking into.
For more information about discount plans, visit http://www.ameriplanusa.com or call 847-590-0192.
Christine Andersen,
Benefits Specialist
847-590-0192
CAndersen@ameriplan.net
