Health Coverage for Most

When thinking about what type of benefits are important, it starts to become obvious that health insurance coverage is one of the top employee benefits to offer. According to a recent survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, just over 62% of the population under age 65 had some sort of health coverage through an employer. After hearing about employers cutting coverage over the last decade, this is certainly for potential employees.

The downside for employees is that the rising cost of coverage is not lower or equivalent to salary hikes. While the coverage is good, the flip side is it can be cost-prohibitive. This is leading many employers to revaluate their cost share structure, and perhaps shift some of the cost to employees, if they choose not to change to a lower cost plan.

For the average employer, this means looking at the type of coverage offered to potential and current employees. With more and more companies offering health care benefits, employers should look at what their industry offers and try to match or exceed to hire and retain the best staff possible.