1. Health Care:5 Money Saving Strategies forEmployers
All employers from small privately owned businesses to the larger companies that
employee hundreds of people are all looking to cut the costs of health care. Throughout the past
years health care costs have skyrocketed and while it may be easier on larger companies to deal
with the cost increase; it hurts the smaller businesses because they cannot always afford the cost.
“Health insurance costs are a constant concern for small business owners. In the past year
employers paid a larger share of their workers’ health care premiums than ever before, and
premiums increased by 9 percent, and many small businesses reported even steeper hikes”
(Beesley, 2012).
The purpose of this report is to emphasize five different ways that could reduce health
care costs. Each of these ways could benefit businesses of any size from small privately owned
shops to larger corporations.
1. Implement a Wellness Program
One way to decrease health care costs is by implementing a wellness program. Wellness
programs help to promote a healthier lifestyle for employees. They can be as simple as counting
calories or elaborate as creating a competition to see who can lose the most weight. According to
Lynch (2012) implementing a program like this will cut costs and improve the attitudes and
performance of employees.
For example, in Washington County Florida, during the 2014-2015 school year, the
Washington County School board approved the purchase of Fitbit Fitness Trackers. Each
employee received a Fitbit Flex to track the steps they made each day. This tracker accompanied
by a smart phone application allowed the user to log calorie intake, water consumption, and set

2. personal goals. The health competition between the employees began in February of 2015 and
ended in June of 2015. The competition helped to promote not only fitness, but a healthy lifestyle
overall. In an interview with one of the counties bus drivers, who wishes to remain anonymous,
it was revealed that they “liked the benefit of the Fitbit because it allowed me to count calories
and I became more conscious of the things that I was putting into my body” (Anonymous).
Wellness programs work because they encourage and promote a healthy lifestyle. While
employers do not have to go to the extreme of purchasing a fitness tracker for each employee
they could implement the use of free fitness applications; these can be found on the internet and
smart phones.
2. Consideran HMO
The second way to lower healthcare costs is to choose an HMO. According to Blue Cross
Blue Shield (n.d.), using an HMO lowers healthcare costs because only one primary care
physician coordinates the care. It also means that when an employee has to visit a specialist they
have to get a referral from their primary care physician. There is no out-of-network coverage
except in emergency situations and that helps to not only lower healthcare costs overall, but also
lowers the monthly payment.
Choosing to use an HMO is beneficial because it helps to cut the employers cost, but it can have
a negative impact if an employee does not get to choose which physician he or she is allowed to
see.

3. 3. Only Hire Non-Smokers
The third way to save money in
healthcare is to hire non-smokers only.
While this may sound like an extreme it
can actually be very beneficial. According
to the visual smoking is costing the
economy a large amount of money. These
figures are based upon each individual
employee who smokes. Smokers in the
United States cost approximately $193 billion a year when combining lost productivity and
healthcare expenses. This has caused some companies to begin charging employees who smoke
more money to cover their higher premiums (Lynch, 2012).
The positive side of hiring non-smokers can be very beneficial, but before taking this
extreme action it is important to remember to research whether or not your state has laws in
place about discriminating against smokers.
4. ConsiderOffering Flex Benefits
Another great benefit to offer employees would be flex benefits. This allows employers
to share the healthcare cost with their employees. “Money in a flexible spending account escapes
both federal and Social Security taxes (and in most cases, state and local income taxes, too). You
can use these tax-free funds to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses throughout the year”
(Lankford, 2011).

4. The benefits of flex spending accounts are that employees are having to keep track of the
amount of money that they are spending on healthcare and that allows them to be more conscious
of where their money goes.
5. Only Offer Generic Drugs
Offering generic drugs when providing healthcare can save you up to 80% on the cost of
prescriptions when comparing generic to the brand name (Lynch, 2012). So many people these
days have a prescription of some type that they have to have covered under their healthcare, but
switching to only offering generic drugs can help to decrease that cost.
Conclusion
There is no doubt that the cost of healthcare will continue to rise, but hopefully by implementing
one or more of these ideas employers can decrease the cost for themselves and for their
employees.
Once again, the ways that employers can reduce healthcare cost is:
 Implementing wellness programs
 Switch to an HMO
 Do not hire smokers
o Increase premiums for employees who smoke
 Implementing a flex spending program
 Cover only use of generic drugs

5. Works Cited
Beesley,C.(2012, January16). How to Reduce the Costof Providing Health Care CoverageforYour
Employees.Retrieved11 15, 2015, from https://www.sba.gov/blogs/how-reduce-cost-
providing-health-care-coverage-your-employees
Howcan I lower my monthly healthinsurancecost? (n.d.).RetrievedDecember1,2015, from
http://www.bcbsm.com/index/health-insurance-help/faqs/topics/buying-insurance/how-to-
lower-my-health-insurance-cost.html
Lankford,K.(2011, April). 30 Waysto Cut Health Care Costs.RetrievedNovember17, 2015, from
http://www.kiplinger.com/article/spending/T027-C000-S002-30-ways-to-cut-health-care-
costs.html
Lynch,R. (2012, January5). Ten WaysSmall BusinessesCan LowerHealthcare Costs(And Hire More
People) in 2012. RetrievedNovember19,2015, from
http://www.forbes.com/sites/roblynch/2012/01/05/ten-ways-small-businesses-can-lower-
healthcare-costs-and-hire-more-people-in-2012/2/