Photo by Hillary Ehlen
You’re an expert in your industry. That’s why you became an entrepreneur. But, you don’t know anything about corporate structure, tax filings, loans, HR or the thousands of other minutiae you deal with every day.
At Fargo INC, we want to help businesses grow. That’s why we found 10 business owners and executives and asked them for their toughest business questions. We then paired them up with an expert in that industry. Here are your questions answered.
Financial Expert
Benjamin Zietz
Employee Benefits Advisor at Dawson Insurance
Business Executive
Nicole Seaberg
Vice President of Valley Green & Associates
Are there any realistic options for small businesses to offer health insurance to their employees?
Small businesses looking to offer group health insurance to employees often feel overwhelmed by the large number of choices, plan designs, pricing structures and compliance regulations regarding benefits. The first area of confusion is who must offer benefits. Employers with fewer than 50 full-time equivalent employees are not required to offer health insurance while those with more than 50 must either have a medical plan or pay a penalty. For those looking at implementing benefits for the first time, the first consideration is building a budget and finding out how to create the largest employee value for the cost. Often this means looking at what other organizations in your same industry are providing.
If you have already implemented a plan but are trying to see if there are other options, then working with a broker can be very beneficial. Most brokers can show you pricing options for all the carriers in your market and help you determine what would be the best fit for you. Another avenue to explore is to see if any associations that you are already a member of have a health plan that you could join.
The big takeaway is to determine your need and find the right partner to help.
Employers will spend an average of $10,000 per employee on benefits during 2019
Less than 1/3of U.S. workers feel involved, enthusiastic or committed to their work
Companies with engaged employees can perform up to 202% higher
* Stats according to Dawson Insurance
