Benefits of Providing Group Health Insurance: Not All Upsides Show Up on a Balance Sheet
If you’re a Colorado Springs small business owner who only thinks of costs and burdens when considering whether to offer health coverage to your employees, it’s time to consider the benefits of providing group health insurance. The upsides of offering a group health plan to your workforce are real and significant, even if they may not show up as a line-item on your company balance sheet.
The reason you can’t see specific ROI from employee health plans is that many of the benefits of providing group health insurance are intangible. The net gain (or loss) shows up in the stability and continuity of your workforce. The pros appear in how prospective employees see your company. The many benefits of quality health care manifest themselves in employees who are healthier, happier, and more productive. While intangible, all of these positive results of giving your employees access to affordable, high-quality healthcare ultimately will improve your bottom line.
Attracting Top Talent by Providing Group Health Insurance to Employees
You want to hire the best people. The top candidates for a position at your Colorado Springs company will likely receive competing offers from other potential employers. Providing a robust group health insurance plan is one way to make your offer, and your company, more attractive to job seekers.
People understand the critical importance of having health insurance. When you make it a benefit of employment with your company, and your competitors do not, your job offer becomes an offer they almost can’t refuse.
Reducing Employee Turnover
Not only do you want to attract the best talent, but you want to keep the best employees as well. Recruiting, hiring, training, and onboarding new employees can be expensive and time-consuming. Your employees will be far less likely to look for greener pastures, and you’ll spend less time and money on the hiring process when your workers have the security of employer-provided health coverage.
A Healthier and More Productive Workforce
Of course, the fundamental point of health insurance is to keep plan participants healthy and help them get better when they’re sick or hurt. Employees who have coverage are less likely to get ill and more likely to get care when they need it. Having access to health care means fewer sick days and improved productivity from your Colorado workers.
The benefits of providing group health insurance also manifest themselves in a workforce that feels valued by their employer. Knowing that your company is invested in its employees’ health can make those employees more motivated and dedicated to the company’s overall success.
Tax Benefits of Providing Group Health Insurance to Employees
Of course, not all of the benefits of providing group health insurance are intangible. The tax advantages of offering group coverage are substantial. All expenses related to health insurance are 100 percent tax-deductible under both federal and state law.
For small business owners, the tax benefits of providing health insurance to part-time employees are even more substantial. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides for small business healthcare tax credits of up to 50 percent of your premium expenses for any two-year period. Per IRS rules, companies can generally claim the small business health care tax credit if they:
- Have fewer than 25 full-time equivalent employees
- Pay average wages of less than $50,000 a year per full-time equivalent (indexed every year for inflation)
- Offer a qualified health plan to employees through a Small Business Health Options Program Marketplace (or qualify for a limited exception to this requirement)
- Cover at least 50 percent of the cost of employee-only health care coverage for each employee
As with most things tax-related, you should always consult with a tax professional (along with an experienced group health insurance broker) to understand how your insurance program impacts your tax obligations.
Preferred Insurance Can Help You Reap the Benefits of Group Health Insurance Coverage
Helping Colorado small business owners reap the benefits of providing group health insurance coverage is what we do best at Preferred Insurance, an experienced Colorado Springs small business health insurance broker. Small businesses not only receive our extensive group health insurance expertise but also get the information they need in plain English so they can make informed and knowledgeable decisions. We are a locally owned and operated Colorado group health insurance broker that offers free quotes in less than 48 hours.
Call Preferred Insurance today to schedule a free consultation about your small business health insurance needs.
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