Since 2000, Benecaid has helped small business across Canada offer their employees competitive health benefit plans. Health benefit plans are essential for all parties involved; not only does this coverage give employers the perks they need to attract top industry talents, but it gives employees and their families flexible health coverage that can be directed towards a wide array of medical expenses.
If you have been considering choosing Benecaid for your small business, then read on to learn a little more about the Health Spending Account stacks up against alternative methods of paying for medical expenses.
Traditional Insurance
Often thought of as the superior health benefit plan by those unfamiliar with Benecaid coverage, traditional insurance plans are quite common. With this plan, the business owner pays a monthly premium to a third party insurance company, and receives health and dental coverage plans for its employees in return.
Typically, the insurance company profits considerably from this health benefit plan structure. 40% profit margins are very common, while other insurance companies will increase this as high as 65%. This means that for every $100 you spend on coverage, only $35-60 will be allocated to your employees!
Additionally, traditional insurance plans are peppered with exclusions for preexisting conditions, convoluted claim procedures, and frustrating waiting periods.
Last but not least, traditional insurance does not really fit very small businesses and sole proprietors. Many traditional health insurance plans require a minimum of 3 employees in order to qualify for group health benefit plans.
Paying for your coverage out-of-pocket
Covering your medical expenses on your own dime isn’t a great alternative to the hoops that traditional insurance plans have you jump through. Still, some business owners opt to pay out of pocket to avoid the restrictive and expensive frameworks built by traditional insurers. Unfortunately, this is not often tenable because small business owners are forced to pay for medical bills with after-tax dollars. By the end of the year, after-tax calculations will show that this can almost effectively double the cost of the medical bill you are trying to cover out of pocket.
Health Spending Accounts
The third and final option for your health benefit plans may be your best. Benecaid HSAs acknowledge a number of critical facts about health insurance. Benecaid understands that there is no sense purchasing insurance for a planned event; paying a 40% premium on a planned, administrative event such as a visit to the dentists for a check-up does not make sense.
Secondly, Benecaid understands that unplanned events such as orthodontics, MRIs, or laser eye surgeries will not be accommodated by most traditional plans. The majority of costs will still end up coming out of the employee’s pocket. Paying out of pocket is not cost-effective because it means that the payee gets slammed by income tax rates.
Since traditional health insurance and paying out of pocket are both unappealing to most employees and business owners, HSAs are almost your best option by default. However, HSAs are appealing for a great number of reasons. With flexible coverage that can extend to protect your family members, and roll-over unused funds for a year, HSAs are a preferred choice for small business owners seeking health benefit plans.
To learn more about the value of Benecaid HSAs, visit http://benecaid.wpengine.com/health-spending-account today!
