Health Insurance..up again

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iwire said:
I agree, they don't have to provide insurance just like they do not have to provide vacations, bonus programs, vehicles, free clothes, classes, license renewal fees etc. Those are all voluntary incentives provided to get good and reliable help.

I will say this, Scott's post really gives me a better appreciation of the deal I get through the company.
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I provide all of these and still have a hard time trying to find good help.
 
stickboy1375 said:
Its not the employers responsibility...
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A little background might be in order here.

Our employer-based health system is a costly mistake, the outgrowth of World War II-era wage and price controls and tax breaks that let newly flush employers shield their profits in benefits and escape taxation on health spending. Even today, employer spending on health care is tax deductible, while individual spending is not. It's terrifically distorting, locking individuals into jobs they don't want and stifling entrepreneurship, burdening corporations with duties they shouldn't assume, and vastly increasing their power over employees. General Motors, after all, is a car company. They make cars. Who decided it should be in the health-care business, too? And if their employee decides to set off and make a better car, do we really want his plans foiled because he can't interrupt his daughter's dental care?
 
DAWGS said:
I provide all of these and still have a hard time trying to find good help.
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unfortunately stickboy is right, ec's are a dime a dozen...good help isn't....imagine how hard it would be to find good help without offering those things....
 
emahler said:
unfortunately stickboy is right, ec's are a dime a dozen...good help isn't....imagine how hard it would be to find good help without offering those things....
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As has been described in the many job hunting threads...
The guys who can do the work are in almost every instance doing it already
doing it for a company they have usually been with a while
with (among other benefits) a good health insurance program.

Most guys doing this work a while (experienced JW) have had an injury of some sort
and/or have wives and children who may have 'pre-existing conditions'.
This is a real challenge to another shop looking to hire them away.

The other benefits they enjoy can in almost every case be matched or even beaten by many other EC's... but you can't get around the Health Insurance.
 
romexking said:
I am not so much complaining about the costs as I am offering a warning to closely examine your plan. You may need to get supplemental insurance...I wish I thought of that a few months ago. My wife has been in the hospital since Dec 6th, and all of the little expenses that are not covered are adding up quickly. She is also getting special treatment that the insurance claims is not covered (we'll see about that!) so we are paying out of our pocket for that right now. the normal rate is over 4K a day, but we are getting a professional discount (wife's father teaches at this hospital) down to about $2500 a day. If we are lucky, she will be home in about a month. It is an unusual situation, and not something you might expect to happen to everyone, but some sort or catastrophic insurance coverage sure would have been good to have. Take some time and look into it for yourselves before something catastrophic happens to your family.
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Hey man sorry to hear about your wife. I hope everything works out for the best.
 
We have always provided health insurance for our employees on a 50/50 basis. We offered a variety of plans to choose from and paid half the premium no matter how much it was. Things began to escalate way out of site the last several years so last year we changed to a high deductable plan coupled to a health savings account (HSA) for each employee. It's a GREAT system.

It works like this. The company picks up the premium of the high deductable plan. The employee uses pre-tax dollars to fund his/her health savings account up to about $5600/year which can be used for all covered expenses toward the deductable and if it's not used it rolls over and stays in the investment package that they control. The HSA money can also be used for many non-covered things such as chiropractic, cosmetic surgery, vision care, accupuncture..............

If there is a pile of money saved up at a predetirmined age (62 I think), the money (per-taxed and investment grown) can be rolled into a retirement plan.

This system encourages healthy living and savings. It discourages unnecessary doctor and hospital visits. It also allows the employee to choose whatever doctor or clinic they want and to shop around for the best value for care.
 
tonyou812 said:
Hey man sorry to hear about your wife. I hope everything works out for the best.
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thank you very much. It already has worked out for the best...she is going to survive. About 1 more month in the hospital, and 6-9 months until "fully" recovered"

One of the worst things about this ordeal has been having to make lunches to take to school for our 2 & 6 yr olds. If you don't have to do that, you should thank your wives/girlfriends....it really really really sucks!

I also would like to put this out there. Due to the logistics of getting young children to and from school, and taking care of the home, bills, dinners, clothes washing, and all of the other things many people's wives do, I only get to be in the office or field for about 5 or 6 hours a day. This is certainly not enough time to run a business, but due to the systems that I have put in place, we are muddling through. If I had been charging $65, $85 or even $105 and hour we would have quickly closed our doors. My point is, charging the rates we have been, has allowed me to create the proper internal systems and procedures that permits me to almost ignore my business for 50% of the time for the past 3 months. How would your business do if you were gone for that period of time? Don't get me wrong, I am losing money every day I don't work all day, but it could be a lot worse.
 
sparky 134 said:
Has anyone looked at the National Association for the Self Employed ? They claim to have buying power when it comes to insurance.
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I have my medical through them. Megalife is the name. I pay $1,900 a quarter for a family plan with a 10,000 deductable. If I pay $3,500 more a year I can have a $5,000 deductable.

I'd be happier if I could get the expense as a deduction. I have the S corporation pay the bill but my tax accountant says it's not a legit business expense.
 
mkgrady said:
I have my medical through them. Megalife is the name. I pay $1,900 a quarter for a family plan with a 10,000 deductable. If I pay $3,500 more a year I can have a $5,000 deductable.

I'd be happier if I could get the expense as a deduction. I have the S corporation pay the bill but my tax accountant says it's not a legit business expense.
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It is a deduction, however anyone that owns more that 5% of the company must claim it as income on their personal taxes.
 
My accountant has the brains on this one and it's been a few years since I asked her about the medical reimburse that I do. I believe I get 25% as a corporate deduction and take the rest as a benefit that I pay income tax on.

Dave
 
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