Rising health care costs, and changes in the health care system due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) have many wondering if employers will keep offering employer-based health benefits to employees. According to Larry Boress, President and CEO of the Midwest Business Group on Health, the answer is yes.
Boress believes benefits serve multiple purposes other than providing health care to employees. He argues that providing employees with health benefits allows companies to recruit talent and ensure workers have the ability, health-wise, to perform well on the job.
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Health care benefits are the second-highest expense for companies after payroll. In order to offset costs, he suggests companies have some of the following options:
- identify disease and health problems early on
- focus on prevention and management of chronic conditions
- have employees pay higher deductibles and co-pays for care
- consider using private health insurance exchanges
- provide direct health programs and services to employees
Even with the high costs associated with benefits, companies continue to consider providing benefits a necessary expense and an investment in their employees’ health. Moving forward, businesses will need to come up with cost-saving strategies related to their health-care benefits.
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“At the end of the day, dropping health care coverage is not an option, especially for employers who are focused on the health and productivity of their workforce,” argues Boress. “Regardless of a company’s size, in a global marketplace, a business can’t afford to lose its most important assets – its people.”
Please read the entire article by Larry Boress here.
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