When a company, regardless of size, purchases health insurance for its employees that company is able to buy it at a substantially lower cost as there are many more participants. Individual policies are, in so many ways cost prohibitive that for many it would be impossible to afford them. In any business the company has the goal of making a profit on its product or services which is obvious.
Many years ago President Calvin Coolidge said,”The business of the nation is business.” This is true both in the home and the office. We are constantly hearing about the health crisis in this country and there is indeed one, with so many under insured or uninsured workers. Companies should be required to purchase and provide their workes with health insurance. Many of these insurance programs not only cover the worker when he/she is in need of care, but also have wellness programs to encourage and educate workers in ways to stay healthy, a common idea called preventative maintenance.
This is a win-win situation for the company and the workers, There is an old saying that goes, if you have your health you have everything. There is no company that can do well in terms of profit if its workers are unhealthy, something all companies want to have is quality workers. A quality worker can only be productive if that worker is healthy. By purchasing health coverage for its workers any business is treating its employees as human beings, recognizing their worth as individuals and to the company. Also the employee will feel that his/her efforts are appreciated by management and thus can translate into an incentive to maintain health and be productive for the benefit of everyone concerned.
Sooner or later in life we all face health issues in one form or another. Just knowing that we have this “safety net” of coverage can be a relief to a worker who can pay more attention to the work at hand knowing that the health needs of his or her family is taken care of. Now the unasked part of the main question is should the employee make a contribution or copay to the health plan. That is not the concern here and is a separate issue.
By purchasing health coverage for its employees the businees is doing something that the employee may not do on his own for cost reasons or to be frank lack of responsibility. Until the government does something on the Federal level about this crisis the business community must take the initiative and provide for the health and well being of its worker.