For small dental practices, it’s a significant milestone to offer employee health benefits. Making the decision to offer health benefits involves careful consideration, and knowing where to start can be a challenge. In this week’s Wise Up Wednesday, we’ll cover five common types of employee health benefits to get you started.
5 types of employee health benefits
When it comes to employee health benefits, small employers have more health benefit options than they used to, including newer cost-effective options. Here are five different types of employee health benefits you need to know about.
1. Health insurance coverage – The dental practice purchases a health insurance policy to cover eligible employees and their dependents. Coverage can be purchased through a broker, online, or through the SHOP Marketplace.
2. Health insurance reimbursement plan – The dental practice provides a tax-free reimbursement plan to contribute to employees’ personal health insurance costs; also called a defined contribution health plan.
3. Health care savings account – The dental practice provides employees access to a health care savings account, such as a Health Savings Account or Flexible Spending Account.
4. Wellness program – The dental practice provides incentives or programs to stay healthy such as access to a gym, biometric screenings, or disease prevention education.
5. Ancillary benefits – The dental practice provides employees the opportunity to purchase health benefits to supplement major medical health insurance. Common ancillary benefits include dental, vision, and life insurance. These benefits can be employer-funded or offered on a voluntary basis.
Conclusion
Deciding to offer employee health benefits is a big decision for any small or growing dental practice. A good place to start is to understand the different types of employee health benefits available, including traditional health insurance coverage, reimbursement plans, savings accounts, and ancillary health benefits.
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Wise-up Wednesday is presented bi-monthly from the experts at Zane Benefits. One Wednesday a month features Human Resource issues, and the other Wednesday discusses health benefits. To learn more about individual health insurance reimbursement for dental practices, download Zane Benefits’ complimentary guide.
