This year we have seen increases in health care costs for employers, but there is also the problem of employees possibly seeing increases in terms of how much they will pay for their health insurance as there are some employer group health insurance plans implemented by various businesses that will necessitate workers pay a higher share in these costs so that health care can remain available. One area where consumers are seeing potential increases is their contribution to premium payments that may arise in the near future, as there are some employers who are having to share the costs with their workers in the hopes of lessening the burden they face when it comes to providing health insurance to a point where they can still offer this coverage to workers.
There have been some instances where workers are willing to shoulder more of the costs for their employer group health insurance policy as it does help them when it comes to certain medical costs, but there are also options that have offered alternatives in the area of business health insurance plans that may also bring about lower premiums for companies willing to opt in to certain policies. One of the popular methods that have been used is turning to high-deductible health insurance policies for workers, as businesses have been able to keep health insurance coverage for their workers, offer a plan that has low premium payments, but also set up health savings accounts for their workers so that money can be saved by these employees and applied towards costs that are not met under this health insurance plan.
Ideally, workers would save money in their health savings account, use this money for routine medical visits or other smaller medical costs, but also have funding available if the high amount of medical treatment was needed and they had to pay a higher deductible associated with these particular types of plans. While this keeps monthly costs low, consumers who are frequenting the doctor may find that these out-of-pocket costs could become quite cumbersome, but it will always depend on the type of plan that an employer opts into as to what is covered, as some of these programs may help more when it comes to preventative medical care.
However, this is where the argument has arisen as to whether these high-deductible plans are more helpful versus simply having workers shoulder more costs, particularly related to monthly premiums, as workers would have to set aside money into their health savings account so that they could minimize out-of-pocket costs or pay deductibles, and in some cases this money they are saving that will only go towards their medical expenses could be comparable or more than the increase they are seeking in terms of how much they must share an employer group health insurance costs.
It’s because of this that many employers are often urged to review the needs of their workers, in terms of health insurance and claims, as a high deductible health insurance policy may be more affordable in terms of monthly premiums but in the long run it could cause more of a financial strain on workers, which is obviously something that many employers, particularly small businesses, hope to avoid. In some cases, the only way that a company can avoid cutting health insurance for their workers is to have these individuals share the costs, but there are alternatives like these high deductible plans that can be helpful, yet again it’s often advised to employers to carefully review the specific health insurance needs of their workers and if they will benefit from these alternative plans.
