Employers have long recognized the benefits of providing health insurance coverage to their employees. Doing so helps the company keep its workforce healthy and productive, and companies can take advantage of the tax benefits that come along with providing health coverage. Further, many companies recognize that health insurance coverage is still an expectation on the part of employees, and so provide the benefit as a part of an attractive total rewards package.
That said, employers sometimes have difficulty finding their way through the maze of health insurance options, and weighting the pros and cons of varying coverage levels and cost structures.
Evaluating California group health Insurance options
There is a lot of front-end work that employers can do to help them arrive at the best decision for their company’s employees and their own bottom line. The options for group medical insurance in California are numerous, and not all plans and insurance companies are built alike, so it pays to compare the plan features, costs, price history, and the other offerings of the carriers.
To start, employers can compile information on the various types of health insurance options available to them. They can look at health maintenance organizations (HMOs), which tend to be less expensive, but also tend offer more limited choice. They can also consider preferred provider organizations (PPOs), which allow policyholders to seek care from a larger network of health care providers; however, they are generally more expensive than HMOs.
Companies can also now consider health savings accounts, which work in concert with high deductible health plans. These accounts work something like 401(k)s in that employee contributions are tax-deferred, and the account balances are portable. Health savings accounts are not the right choice for every company, but many have been attracted to them for their lower cost.
Further, many companies do not limit their choices to one or the other of the above. Companies can, and often do, offer employees a choice of HMO, PPO and or HSA. Typically companies will ask employees to foot the difference in the premiums in exchange for making the choice available.
Looking at the insurance companies
Once employers have weighted the relative benefits of the types of plans and programs, they can compare the various carriers. Some carriers have better track records for keeping prices relatively stable, while others have made great strides in offering superior preventative care, disease management, and wellness programs. The typical employee is contributing about twice as much to their health care premiums today as they did just ten years ago, so price stability is an important consideration for employer and employee alike. Likewise, as employees have been forced to foot more of the cost of premiums, interest in preventative care has increased as a way of managing those costs, and promoting a more healthy lifestyle.
Though the cost of health insurance has risen sharply over the past decade, the cost of not providing sufficient choice of health coverage to employees could well be higher. Keeping employees healthy is key to keeping them on the job and productive. And offering employees the health insurance coverage they expect is critical to attracting and retaining the key companies need to drive their success. Doing a little research on the available options for California group health insurance will help California business owners find the right balance between providing sensible protection against health issues and the cost of doing so.
