A new study indicates that large employers tend to be more likely to offer employee benefits to their workers than small business owners based on recent statistics.
The report, which was conducted by private U.S. foundation The Commonwealth Fund, found that 90 percent of large businesses – or those that employ more than 100 people – made employee benefits available to their workers. This contrasts sharply with small businesses that employ 50 or fewer workers, as only 49 percent of employees were offered health insurance benefits. That's down from nearly 60 percent when a similar poll was conducted in 2003.
The study also showed that the less money workers made, the more unlikely it was that they were offered employee benefits. A mere 33 percent of workers making less than $15 per hour were getting employer-based health coverage in 2010. Meanwhile, 70 percent of workers making above $15 an hour were enrolled in their employer's health plan.
With the full implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act set to go into effect, the study shows that healthcare costs may already be putting a significant burden on employers.
"The report highlights a nearly decade-long trend of declining health insurance coverage and rising costs for workers in small businesses, particularly those who make less than $15 an hour," said Sara Collins, vice president of The Commonwealth Fund and the study's co-author. "As a result, many people who work for small businesses can't afford the health care they need or have medical bills they are unable to pay."
She added that the hope is the PPACA will make healthcare more affordable and accessible, but it's unclear whether this will happen.
Self-insurance may be better option
Though small business owners with fewer than 50 employees are not required to offer employee benefits to their workers, company owners may find the healthcare environment vastly different when the PPACA goes into full effect in 2014. This may make self-insurance a better alternative to a fully insured plan. It may be particularly beneficial for business owners who employ more than 100 workers. As noted by insurance experts Joseph Berardo and Thomas Considine in Business Legal Reports, self-insured plans are immune from some of the HR compliance statutes of the PPACA that companies are obligated to follow.
