Before deciding whether to provide Health Coverage as an employee benefit in 2014, check out these guidelines from small business experts:
- Consider the nature of your business. Professional businesses – such as physicians, dentists, architects, and CPAs – that need to compete for skilled workers will probably find it makes financial sense to provide Health Insurance for their employees. On the other hand, a dry cleaner or mom-and-pop restaurant that hires minimum-wage or unskilled workers might decide to skip Group Coverage.
- Keep in mind what your employees want. Employees newly required to have Health Insurance under the Affordable Care Act might prefer to get it from their employers.
- Don’t forget about the tax benefits of providing healthcare. The federal government offers most companies with fewer than 25 low-wage employees tax credits to help cover the cost of insurance. The credit is up to 35% of company payments for health benefits, and will increase to 50% in 2014 for businesses that buy coverage through the state online Health Insurance markets created by the ACA.
- Consider subsidized health benefits. Your employees might be better off buying Health Insurance through the state exchange – especially if they qualify for federal subsidies. (For example, a family of four with an annual income of $92,000 would be eligible under this program). Ask yourself: “If most of my employees could qualify for premium help through the individual exchange, am I doing them a favor by offering Group Coverage?”
Before you make your decision, we’d be happy to review all of these factors in the context of your situation and offer you our recommendation. Just give us a call.
