Healthcare costs have been on the rise for years now. According to healthaffairs.org, the cost of healthcare has more than tripled from 1990 to 2009, and is expected to reach a whopping 19.6% of GDP in 2019. The burden of increased healthcare costs falls on employees and business owners, and can be a serious strain on business and personal finances. So how can your small business take steps to combat rising healthcare costs and keep premiums down? Here are 5 tips to help keep your employees healthy and your healthcare costs at bay.
- Get a group discount at a local gym. Talk to the managers of gyms located close to your office. Many gyms offer corporate discounts for businesses, making it more affordable for employees to join. If it’s in the budget, consider subsidizing employee gym memberships. According to the Mayo Clinic, exercise is a key component in preventing chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and osteoporosis – ailments that can seriously add to the cost of healthcare.
- Start an exercise group at work. Work-place fitness is a growing trend, helping busy employees squeeze a workout in without a trip to the gym. Got a cafeteria, large meeting room, or warehouse? Put this space to work after-hours by inviting an office fitness guru or friend to teach a class. Basics like yoga are great for beginners. If you work in an area where you can take the workout outside, consider forming a running or biking group, and hit the roads after work or on your lunch break. We’re big believers in this trend - Wasp employees have been known to log miles on nearby trails before work, and four team members even conquered a half marathon together.
- Offer healthy snacks and water in your break room. Instead of grabbing cookies or cupcakes to bring into work on Friday, why not offer fresh fruit or mixed nuts for break-room snacks? Consider removing your vending machine, or add an assortment of healthier foods to the vending machine selection. Make water readily available as a low-cal alternative to soda. To keep costs down, try a filtration attachment for your sink or even a water cooler. Keeping healthy snacks on hand can encourage weight loss – and just a 5% weight loss can prevent many chronic health issues, including high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
- Shop around for the best prices on healthcare. Switching healthcare insurance providers can be a headache, but could also be a good opportunity to offer your employees better (or similar) benefits at a lower cost. Talk to other business owners and find out what healthcare insurance provider they’re using. As an added bonus, items 1-3 in our list may also help you score lower rates.
- Offer sick days for employees. The flu can make its way around your office lightning-fast without a solid sick-leave policy. By offering sick days for employees, you’ll encourage those with the sniffles to work from home, instead of sharing a bug with office mates. Fewer sick employees can curtail missed productivity and doctor’s visits – which is a win-win proposition as far as we’re concerned.
What is your office doing to help combat rising healthcare costs and encourage healthy lifestyles? We’d love to hear about them below in our comment area.
Healthcare costs have been on the rise for years now. According to healthaffairs.org, the cost of healthcare has more than tripled from 1990 to 2009, and is expected to reach a whopping 19.6% of GDP in 2019. The burden of increased healthcare costs falls on employees and business owners, and can be a serious strain on business and personal finances. So how can your small business take steps to combat rising healthcare costs and keep premiums down? Here are 5 tips to help keep your employees healthy and your healthcare costs at bay.