Employers
Health insurance is
the most important and valued fringe benefit to employees. For employers,
providing it is a sound business decision:
- Health insurance premiums that
your company pays are fully tax-deductible as a business
expense and are non-taxable income for employees. This tax deduction may be
thought of as a discount to the cost of the
health
insurance.
- Health insurance
payments are excluded from base payroll when calculating an employer’s
Medicare and Social Security payments. An equivalent amount paid in wages would
be subject to Medicare and Social Security taxes.
- Health insurance
coverage gives employers great access to the price reductions that
health
insurance companies negotiate with doctors and other health care
providers.
- Offering
health
insurance may help employers:
- Recruit high-quality workers
- Reduce staff turnover
- Reduce the cost of absenteeism
- Limit disability and worker’s compensation
claims
Providing
health
insurance coverage to your employees may seem like a challenge, but it is
not beyond your reach. If you are a small- or medium-sized business owner or
oversee decisions about health care benefits for your company,
HealthInsurance.Alabama.Gov can help you make an informed
decision about purchasing employer-sponsored
health
insurance and help you navigate through the purchasing process.
HealthInsurance.Alabama.Gov will help you answer such
questions as:
- What types of
health
insurance plans are available to my company?
- What steps do I need to go through to purchase
health
insurance?
- What will be my estimated costs for purchasing a
group
health insurance plan?
- What will be my estimated tax savings?
- What other health benefit options are available to
employees?
Most large employers do offer
group
health insurance benefits. However, those with a lower-paid workforce face
low employee participation rates because employees do not think they can afford
the employee cost share of the
health insurance
premium. HealthInsurance.Alabama.Gov offers tips to
encourage employer participation in
group
health insurance benefits and other health benefit options.
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