What’s the best way to attract and retain quality employees? Offering a good medical insurance package. The cost of healthcare has been steadily rising in recent years—it’s more expensive than ever before and relieving your employees of this burden is priceless! While not all employers are legally required to offer health insurance plans as an employee benefit, providing a comprehensive health plan is advantageous both for your employees and your company’s success.
Yet with so many types of health insurance plans out there, how do you know what to offer? Enter EASI, a benefits and health insurance outsourcing company proudly serving the great state of Mississippi. Whether you’re looking for sound advice and strategies or complete management of your employee benefits, EASI is here for you! We offer employee benefits consulting, health insurance consulting services, and are your go-to for outsourcing employee benefits and other HR services.
Group insurance plans (as health insurance plans for employees are typically called) usually are policies that cover medical insurance for all your employees. Usually your monthly premiums are based upon how many employees you’re covering, the ages of your workers, and your location. While there are many types of medical insurance, these are the most commonly used plans for group health insurance.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO): This is where employees choose a primary care provider from within a network who is responsible for providing all medical services. All specialist referrals must come from the primary care doctor and will be for specialists within the network. Any services by out-of-network doctors are not covered. The costs for HMOs are typically lower and HMO premiums are fixed per employee. A small copay is due for the medical services, and no reimbursement is necessary.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO): PPOs are the most common group medical insurance plan, as they are popular because they offer more choice. Patients don’t have to get primary care physician referrals to see a specialist and the plan will partially pay for out-of-network services. PPOs can be more expensive than HMOs due to the broader range of providers.
Exclusive Provider Organization (EPO): As the most restrictive health insurance plan, EPO policies only pay for services from a select list of providers.
Point of Service (POS): Most similar to HMO plans, a referral is required for specialty services. The main difference is that a POS will cover for certain out-of-network services.
Health coverage is important for employees, but it also benefits the employer. A good employee benefit package can help an employer grow and succeed as a brand in many ways from attracting better talent to improving productivity, morale, and creating tax savings opportunities.
Increase Employee Satisfaction and Productivity with Medical Benefits
The relief of having health insurance is one less thing that you and your employees have to worry about. It can save your employees from financial and physical disaster, and it also provides them with peace-of-mind knowing that their family will be taken care of in the case of an emergency. Effective and affordable healthcare can help reduce stress in the workplace, which leads to improved productivity at your company!
Attract and Retain Quality Employees with Health Insurance Policies
Offering health coverage also makes you more competitive when it comes to hiring and retaining employees. A company’s success relies on its ability to attract talented people who might be lured away by competitors with more attractive perks like health care or retirement plans. An offering of well-rounded benefits helps your business make that appeal even stronger while retaining current staff members because they know their needs are taken care of when you offer them quality benefits. You’ll save valuable time and resources by reducing turnover and maintaining a solid workforce. Plus, your company stands out from the crowd with a reputation for giving back in an ever-competitive market!
Tax Benefits for Employers Offering Medical Insurance
When you offer group health insurance as an employer, your business will reap tax benefits. Your premiums for group health plans are tax-exempt. Additionally,your employee premium contributions are deductible, lowering your taxes due. Another potential tax break from health insurance is if you choose a “cafeteria plan” or Section 125 premium only plan. This means that your employees pay part of the premium pre-tax, which reduces payroll taxes for you and your employees. Depending on the size of your business, you may also qualify for a small business health care tax credit which provides a tax credit of up to half of your contributions to employee premiums.
EASI handles all aspects of your employee benefits from planning to implementation and management, and we also provide sound advice and consulting on medical plans for employees. Our main goal at EASI is to arm you with knowledge about employee benefits, including health insurance, so that you can move forward with a plan that is mutually beneficial for your company and employees. Major medical and supplemental coverage are key components in our employee benefits package, vitally important to the long-term health of your business.
When you use EASI as your Mississippi group health insurance consultant, we’ll explain everything you need to know about group medical insurance, including rules for offering health insurance to employees, employer health insurance requirements, benefits of offering health insurance to employees, cost to provide health insurance to employees, and so much more!
