Cost versus benefit of providing health insurance to employees

Health insurance is continuously on the rise and its costing employers and their employees money.Some companies have completely done away with offering any type of health care for their employees because it is costing them way too much.But some might argue that in doing away with health insurance for employees, it is taking away valuable employees and in fact losing money.What is the cost versus benefit of providing health insurance to employees?Let's take a closer look.

Benefits to providing health insurance for employees
Since employer sponsored health insurance is a voluntary provided benefit it can only be maintained if the employer believes that there is a reason to offer employees the benefits of health insurance.Most companies in order to offer a health insurance plan need to know that it has positive effects on the employees and it will be worth the money they are spending.Although health insurance may run employers extra money there are some huge benefits to offering your employees a health plan.

Some of those benefits are:
1. Healthy employees increase productivity.Statistically, it has been proven that when employees are healthy it can increase productivity.In a study done at Berkeley two sources of productivity gains were noted from healthy employees.The first was a reduction in job lock, and the second was an increase in labor force participation due to improved health.Lack of health insurance means that more employees will take sick days, which means that productivity decreases.A good health insurance plan allows employees to visit the doctor's office or even the emergency room if needed without breaking the bank so to speak.And as a business employer you can fully appreciate that increased productivity equals an increase in sales.

2. As an employer, it is easier to hire and retain good employees if you have some sort of benefit package included with the job.Since health insurance is becoming so expensive and many families are finding it harder to afford, they look for jobs that can provide insurance for them and for their family members.This is a great perk for companies to offer valuable employees.

3. A good health insurance plan means that fewer employees are absent for sick days.Absenteeism can be a major problem, especially during the winter when it seems that virus's, colds and flu bugs are more prevalent.Health Insurance can alleviate some of that as it provides employees with a way to visit their doctor and have regular checkups.It can speed up the recovery time for sick individuals and help them get back to work quicker.

4. There is also something to say about a company's morale when they have a good insurance plan.Employee attitudes seem to be more positive when they work for a company that provides them with a good health insurance plan.They tend to feel more loyal because the company is providing them with something that keeps them and their family members healthy.They can feel good about working for people like that.

As an employer you can choose to provide health insurance or not, but it seems that in providing it you are giving your employees the chance to be healthy and increase productivity with your company.It may cost you a little bit more to provide health insurance but in the long run if your employees perform better isn't worth it?