If you have decided to provide your employees with access to group health insurance, there are several steps you can take to ensure that providing those benefits remains a cost-effective endeavor for your business.
1. Go for a Low-Premium, High-Deductible Plan
If you want to keep the costs you pay as an employer on the lower side, you will want to go with a plan with a low premium and a higher deductible. That means you will be able to pay a lower premium while still providing your employees with insurance.
That means your employees will be responsible for paying all of the out-of-pocket expenses associated with getting medical care until they reach their deductible limit. A low-premium, high-deductible plan will probably be most appealing to employees in good health. A high-deductible plan may not be that appealing for employees who know they will need to access their benefits entirely.
2. Offer Health Savings Account (HSA)
If you offer your employees a high-deductible plan, you will want to ensure you offer your employees a Health Savings Account (HSA). With a health savings account, both employees and employers can make deposits into the account.
This money is pre-tax and is designed to be used for healthcare expenses. The money also can roll over from one year to the next, allowing one to accumulate money that can be used for future health care expenses.
An HSA is an excellent way to offset the impact of a high-deductible plan for your employees, as they can use the money in their HSA to pay their deductible. In addition, you can make an HSA more appealing by contributing towards it as the employer.
3. Offer Multiple Types of Plans
Recognize not all individuals in your organization are going to have the same healthcare needs. Therefore, you can offer multiple types of plans and benefits.
For example, you can offer a low-premium and high-deductible plan with a set contribution to an HSA. Employees could choose a higher-premium, low-deductible plan, giving up the contributions to the HSA. Offering choices will allow you to meet the needs of all of your employees in a fair manner, so people are choosing the benefits that they get.
When it comes to providing group health insurance for your employees, a low-premium, high-deductible plan combined with a health savings account is a great way to keep health insurance costs reasonable. Of course, you can still offer different plan types to meet the needs of all of your employees. These tips will help you provide affordable, cost-effective health insurance benefits.
