What is the Average Cost of Health Insurance for a Small Business?
Health insurance can be incredibly stressful and aggravating for many small business owners, but it doesn’t have to be. It’s almost like trying to learn the steps to a new dance. It should be straightforward, but it rarely is. So much depends on being able to lead, or to follow, as the case may be. And on how good a teacher you have.
There’s no denying that the rising cost of healthcare is a real hot topic these days, and entrepreneurs are left wondering about their health insurance options and how price increases change their lives. Answers may seem scarce, but the latest Employer Health Benefits Survey from Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) might be helpful to you.
Employer and Employee Contributions
According to the survey, an employee’s share of premiums varies greatly, ranging from nothing to over 50% of the total—although it’s rare for an employee’s share to be as low as zero (only 12% of businesses paid the whole portion of single coverage). People covered under employer-provided health plans contributed about 18% of the cost of premiums for single coverage and 30% for family coverage.
Healthcare reimbursement plans
If your premiums are above the national average as reported by the KFF, or the costs are simply too much to manage, you should check out healthcare reimbursement plans (HRPs) as an alternative option.
KFF’s survey shows that employers with group health insurance pay about $521 per employee per month for single coverage and $1,462 per employee for family coverage, and these amounts are subject to change from year to year. But with an HRP, you can set the maximum amount that you as an employer are responsible for.
HRPs may just be the answer to controlling your costs and keeping them standardized year after year. So you always know what step comes next. Think this may be your next step in the small business health insurance dance-off? Drop us a line at BuyHealthInsurance.com. It’s time to talk business. And there’s nothing small about it.
