7 Simple and Effective Ideas to Lower Your Companies Health Insurance Costs Immediately and Into the Future

These are 7 simple and effective ideas to lower your companies health insurance costs immediately and into the future. Try some now, and you will help create a better, happier, and healthier work environment, and save you and your employees a lot of money with your health insurance costs.

1. Implement a wellness program for your company and your employees. They’re easy to start and fun, and they promote a healthy active lifestyle for your employees. They also encourage employees to institute preventive care solutions such as screenings and immunizations, which can help them and their family stay healthy, and reduce serious health issues in the future.

2. Encourage your employees to use a telemedicine program. Most insurance companies offer 24-7 access to a doctor via phone or videoconferencing with little to no co-pay. You can get medical advice and prescriptions filled over the phone. It's easy and saves employees time and money and an unnecessary trip to the doctor for simple things like a prescription refill. 

3. Give employees that smoke bonuses for quitting. As an employer, a $2000 bonus now for quitting smoking will save you tens of thousands in the future. If you have 20 employees which all smoke, compared to another company with 20 employees and nobody smokes, your health rates will most likely routinely be at least 25-50% higher a year every year for the company full of smokers. 

4. Give employees a $25 dollar monthly bonus for going to the gym an average of 5 to 10 hours a month. Preventive care is the care you receive to prevent illnesses or diseases, but it is also being proactive with taking care of your mind and body. What better preventive care than going to the gym consistently.

5. Educate your employees on the difference in price between primary and urgent care facilities and an emergency room. The cost for an emergency room is usually 5-10 times higher for an emergency room visit versus an urgent care or primary care facility for most of the same services.

6. Give your employees with health insurance more information, on their health insurance, and do a better job educating them on their health insurance. Employees will shop for weeks to save 5% when buying a new i-phone, but will not think twice about shopping around to get a better deal for a $50,000 surgery or procedure. Most employees do not realize different doctors and different health care facilities sometimes charge different prices for the same work.

7. Partner with a PEO. PEO's offer private master health plans for small to mid-size companies. Most PEO's have ten's of thousands of employees on their health plans so they use their leverage, and their power in number to get big discounts with the health insurance companies. Usually their health rates are 10-30% less than what small companies can get for the same plan, with the same health insurance company on their own.

For more information, or to share with me your thoughts or questions, please call or email me at [email protected] or 713-492-8009.