Employer Health Insurance – A Quick Read
Two thirds of the US population benefit from employer health insurance, but the number of the uninsured is still very high and the costs of individual insurance policies keep getting higher. Most of the time, employer health insurance packages represent a way to attract and keep valuable employees, and many companies work on such a basis. Moreover, the benefits provided by an employee health insurance are less expensive than those purchased individually. Plus, there is a higher degree of stability in the employer-sponsored system than in the independent one. There are some requirements that an employee has to meet in order to be eligible for the system.
Normally, employer health insurance becomes active after a certain period of time, when the employee has a number of worked weekly hours and covers a part of the monthly contribution. Employer health insurance is widely used by large corporations, and it is less accessible to the small companies that don’t have the financial power to pay the premiums for their employees. A common policy to keep valuable people within small companies is to provide a more attractive wage even if the employer health insurance plan is not possible.
The majority of workers benefit from employer health insurance coverage, but there is also a considerable number of self-insured that work with companies on the individual market or get coverage through public programs. Many employees cannot afford to pay the high rates that make their share to the premiums sponsored by the employer. This tendency is reflected in the poorer enrollment numbers and it is explained by the decline in incomes, the cost rise of the insurance and people’s money awareness. There are many workers that have health insurance coverage through the spouse, which also seems like a good solution as compared to uninsured situations.
Even if most corporations provide employer health insurance packages, the number of uninsured workers has increased over the last years, and the main causes for this decline are the high employee premium contribution and the lower wages. The last two years have seen a decline in wages, an increase of the monthly premium rates and thus the possibility to pay for the packages has gone lower too. It goes without saying that the higher the contribution, the lower the employee’s chances of enrolling.In small firms the premium contribution is with 10% higher than in larger companies. In the private market, health insurance is more difficult to cover, although lots of people prefer this alternative too. Statistics indicate that if there were a drop in the premium costs, a very high number of employees would enroll in the system of employer health insurance right away.
Tags: employee health insurance, employer health insurance, employer sponsored health insurance, employers health insurance, health insurance for self employed
