Healthcare, Insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance is one of the most important and misunderstood areas in the small business world.

Regardless of industry, employees are often at risk of experiencing injury or illness while working.

The best incentive a business can offer is a future.

According to Victoria Hitchcock, Manager, Audit and Accounting, Gorfine, Schiller & Gardyn, “People who have a retirement plan tend to think about their future more, and they tend to be more loyal because their employer is giving them an opportunity to be part of something that benefits their future for a longer time.”

Many people, entrepreneurs and small business owners among them, have conditions such as degenerative disc disease and do not realize it until the pain begins.

Small business owners do have a unique set of pain points in offering health insurance, including costs and administrative tasks.
But there are solid advantages for doing so.
Sally Poblete CEo and founder of Wellthie offers these reasons why providing health insurance is important for small businesses, despite the challenges.

Employee wellness programs are quickly catching on. In fact, about nine out of 10 organizations offer at least one wellness initiative. But employee wellness programs are about more than enticing potential prospects or buttering up employees.
Their benefits go much deeper and can be more financially beneficial.
Chris Powell, CEO, Talmetrix  lists some of those benefits from slashing health care costs to increasing productivity, here’s how employee wellness programs boost a business’ ROI.

The to-do lists for small-business owners are often anything but short.
And when it comes to the administration of benefits, the list can sometimes grow out of control.
Benefits administration not only requires time for extensive research on the best possible plan for employees, but it demands the time and tools necessary to educate employees on choosing policies that truly work best for them.

Three of four small-business employees surveyed said they are very satisfied with their job because they work for a small business.
However, nearly 72 percent of small-business employees stated an improvement in their benefits offering would make them even happier employees.1 Working for a small business can be appealing for many reasons.
Some factors that contribute to small business employees’ job satisfaction include being rewarded for hard work, flexibility in scheduling, knowledge of how their job fits into the big picture and feeling like their input matters. 

The U.S. healthcare worker shortage crisis is expected to intensify as waves of baby boomers retire but fewer workers remain to replace them. 
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of American workers 65 and over is expected to increase 75 percent by 2050 while those 25 to 54 will likely increase only two percent.

While SMB employees make up about 50% of the workforce, they have 60% of the reported accidents.

At all US private businesses, roughly 3 million workers are injured peryear according to OSHAat a cost of $170 billion dollars.

A recent nationwide survey of small business leaders indicated the Affordable Care Act was the number two concern of those responding.

After getting new customers, the respondents said there was much confusion about the act and what small businesses needed to do to comply.

In fact, many felt they did not know if they were even required to participate in healthcare related programs.

According to Tariq Hilaly, CEO of Lumity, getting a handle on the newest set of rules and regulations is very possible.