How will the Affordable Care Act improve my company? This is a question often asked by small businesses across the nation. It is an important question because when growing a business, to be successful, you need to keep your cost low and your revenue high.
A common concern with the new healthcare law is that it creates an additional tax, an extra burden placed on employers, to make sure their employees are insured. However, the prosperity a company will experience is in large part the result of motivated, enthusiastic employees. The better your employees the more successful your business, and one way to keep better employees is by providing quality health care.
How does a business account for the health of employees when evaluating the future of the company? I have been fortunate to have quality health care throughout my life. My performance at work is a result of the way I feel. It is difficult to imagine falling ill or experiencing a serious injury without health insurance. I recognize this line of thinking is a privilege and there are millions of Americans who are unable to experience this way of life.
There are about 44 million uninsured citizens in the United States, and another 38 million who have inadequate health insurance. According to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, more than three-quarters of the uninsured population are working. When analyzing the risks of providing health insurance, how often will an employer account the benefit of having healthy employees?
One of the largest impacts of the ACA is the expansion of Medicaid. In Utah, expanding Medicaid will provide quality healthcare for 145,000 individuals. Those underprivileged residents will experience improved health and productivity, ultimately strengthening our current workforce because more employees will receive vital health care.
Productivity produces profitability, a trend that should make any business owner ecstatic.
