Employees’ loyalty is greatly enhanced when their employer offers them decent employee benefits. However, offering benefits can be a struggle for small businesses with limited profit margins. Below we offer 5 tips on helping smaller employers to minimize the costs of providing their loyal employees with good benefits.

1. Consider buying cooperatives

Health insurance buying cooperatives can help smaller companies to woo potential insurance providers. Each cooperative has its own unique structure, and may or may not issue superior insurance rates to companies in the regular open market. The value of buying cooperatives is often determined by local insurance underwriting rules and regulations.

A New York City business cooperative, for example, offers members up to 35 health plans to compare and choose from. Though the insurance itself often comes with no discount, members are nonetheless entitled to additional benefits such as free health assessments and discounted dental care.

2. Health Savings Accounts & High-Deductible Health Plans

Employers can use these plans to influence employees into considering their own healthcare costs. People with high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) can use HSAs to harness employee tax funds for non-covered medical expenses. Unused HSA funds can also conveniently be rolled over to the following year. Both employers and employees alike can fund an HSA plan.

Additionally, health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) can also be used in conjunction with HDHPs. Employers use an HRA to set aside funds that can be used to reimburse a fixed amount to employees when it comes to non-covered healthcare expenses and deductibles. The funds are technically owed to the employer, but the employee can nonetheless roll unused funds over to the following year.

3. Look into disease control

Thorough health assessments and preventive healthcare can ease the symptoms and onset of chronic diseases such as asthma or diabetes. Smaller businesses with limited profits and healthcare budgets will often struggle if an employee has a long-term illness that racks up medical bills. In order to avoid this, many smaller companies are now running disease control plans that aim to treat and manage any chronic diseases that their employees may suffer from. Both insurers and third-party organizations provide these disease control plans that can save a smaller business tons of healthcare costs in the long run.

4. Utilize FSAs (Flexible Spending Accounts)

Employees can use FSAs to pay for non-covered medical bills with their pre-tax money. FSAs come in the form of special debit cards that cover co-pays and medications that are uncovered by the employee at hand’s insurance plan. The money is taken away from the pre-tax funds that employees reserve. These FSA cards cost very little to own (often $2 or $3 per month) yet several FSA providers include them as added perks with certain insurance plans.

5. Implement a company wellness plan

Whether it’s a free gym membership, healthy canteen, or free periodic health tests, employers can provide their staff with many health-conscious facilities and resources that often see their insurance costs drop. Employer insurance costs can be greatly reduced by promoting health and wellness knowledge among your staff and providing them with the necessary facilities with which to boost their health.

We’re always looking out for insurance information that affects your finances and your health too. Get in touch with us 24/7 and we will answer any insurance-related questions you may have.

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