Unfortunately, the cost of health care will only continue to rise in the near future! With that in mind, I thought I would share with you some ideas I often give employers for reducing the cost of health care for the company.  (These tips also work if you’re thinking of adding health benefits at a lower cost!)

Share Expenses – Although you might have some long-term employees that came into the company never having to pay their own premiums, this might need to change. As much as you would like to completely take care of your employees’ health care benefits, with the rising costs you might have to instead consider a plan where you both pay a certain percentage. It might be wise to discuss this with employees before implementing it to help determine how much employees can afford.

Make More Options – Instead of having a group health plan that automatically adds in dental, mental health, or eye plans, find an insurance company that allows employees to add these independently. This might mean that the employee has to pay a small fee to cover these additional features, but it will end up saving you money on employees that would have never used the services anyway.

Consider a PPO – Also known as managed care, many companies are switching to PPO programs that incorporate a number of different family practice and specialty doctors that have agreed to be part of the network for a certain percentage less than someone outside the network. The only inconvenience would be employees having to go to certain doctors in order to receive coverage, but this can greatly reduce overall group plan charges.

Start a Wellness Program – Just as an individual insurance plan gives discounts to healthier individuals, group insurance plans offer discounts for health companies. Starting a wellness program does not have to mean building a huge state of the art workout center in the office. It can simply mean beginning a smoking cessation group, offering stress relieving massages to employees or even setting up a weight loss management program.

Remember that the savings will vary widely depending on the company, the number of employees and the type of insurance plan you are already committed to. If you have questions about savings, feel free to contact us.