Health Insurance Articles

Are Employers Required To Offer Health Insurance To Employees

2009-12-12

Are employers required to offer health insurance to employees? That seems to be the question for many Americans today, especially in this economy. Legally the answer is no. Employers are actually not required to provide health insurance coverage. Although many larger companies offer medical, dental and/or vision coverage, this is not necessarily the set standard that employees should expect.

From an employee's point of view, it can be stressful and frightening to think about not having the health insurance and coverage provided. What if you have a family to provide for, or a loved one who is ill? It is far too costly to pay completely out of pocket for medical costs, not to mention dental costs or any emergency hospital care that may be needed. In the past, this may not have been such a concern for young adults. However, with H1N1 spreading throughout the nation, even young adults may be thinking more about their own health care. It only takes one serious illness for a family to financially suffer and even go bankrupt. Financial problems will also cause emotional stress for someone having to worry about paying medical bills, especially if they don't have the health insurance coverage they so need. This may result in an employee not receiving the medical treatment because they can't afford it. There are too many cases of people becoming gravely ill and being not able to seek medical attention because their employer either does not offer health insurance or has recently cut back on coverage because of the bad economy.

On the other side of things, perhaps you are an employer of a smaller company. Profits are down and you're struggling to keep your business alive. So what are your options? Should you lay off a few employees who rely on their paychecks to survive and throw them out with the thousands desperately searching for a job? At the very minimum, you can start cutting back on small expenses such as office supplies, client lunches or small perks that employees may have been receiving. This will help a little, but if you're business continues to suffer, then you will have to face the inevitable. If you don't want to lose your valuable employees, then you may have to cut back on their benefits, starting with overtime pay, bonuses and let's face it- health insurance coverage. Would it be fair if companies struggling to stay afloat were required by law to provide health care coverage for their employees?

As a worker, be prepared to find your own health insurance if it's not offered by your employer. If you search hard enough, you'll be able to find adequate coverage at a decent price.