Employee turnover is a big problem for United States businesses. Every year it costs them about $11 billion. Attracting and keeping good people should top the priority list for most employers. Offering the highest salary is not the way to keep people happy. Multiple research studies have shown this to be true. Providing decent benefits is one way to keep people happy and not looking for new jobs. Most workers appreciate their employee group benefits plan and consider it to be one of, if not the, most important benefits they get from their job.
Offering an employee group benefits plan for health insurance is good for employers as well. Giving this benefit to workers gives the company some important tax benefits. It has also been shown to improve employee retention and help prevent expensive turnover. It can help businesses attract new workers and actually has been shown to reduce the number of sick days people take. Picking the right employee group benefits plan can be a challenging task. You want to find a plan that is both good for your employees and your bottom line.
What is the best plan for my workers?
Most small businesses go with a traditional health insurance. Employees like this because they are allowed a wider variety of doctors and hospitals they can go to when they need to. It is one of the more expensive group health insurance plans. Managed care plans are considered to be one of the more cost-effective benefits solutions, whose downsides are that the copayments are higher and that can be harder for employees, especially when combined with high deductibles.
Make a list of what you think your employees would prefer in terms of health, dental health, mental health and even maternity coverage. You can take that to group benefits specialists knowing what you know you have to have and what benefits do not need to be included in your employee group benefits plan.
Do I need to go to a benefits broker?
If you want to go to a broker, and most small businesses do find their employee group benefits plan through one, you should find one who has experience dealing with your industry and companies that are similar to yours. If they are not similar in what they do, they should be similar in size. Talk to people you know in your industry about who they used to write up their employee group benefits plan. Ask how they found them and what working with them was like. Unfortunately, not all brokers are as honest as one might hope. That makes getting recommendations all the more important.
Compare your list to the policies the broker brings to you.
You may look at the different policies your broker brings you for your employee group benefits plan and find yourself wishing you could take some items from one plan and combine them with parts of another plan. If only that were possible but you can find a plan that has as many of the features you need as you can.andnbsp;
How much does it cost? Look at how much you will pay but also how much your employees will pay. Look at their copayments and coinsurance payments and deductibles. How much of the premium will your employees be asked to pay? Will they be able to afford it? If the plan forces your employees to pay for one quarter or more of their treatment costs or if there are other out of pocket costs that are excessive, do not take that plan. That is not a benefit, it is an unfunded mandate.
What is the coverage like? No one likes the fine print but you need to read every word of it. Look at what conditions are covered? What is the maximum they will pay for them? If the plan you are looking for sets unreasonable maximums for expensive conditions you should look to another plan. You are helping people lead better lives, not trying to make them worse.
Finding a good employee group benefits plan takes work but is worth it. Your employees will be happier and more likely to stay at your company.
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