Introduction
Employee benefits refer to the perks that employers offer to their employees. Such measures stand among the current trends in human resource management in business organizations across the world and form part of the total employee remuneration. Many employers provide bonuses to employees, aiming at improving the general productivity of their employees. Benefits can either be monetary or non-monetary; in most instances, they are voluntarily given to the employees. For example, some employers include health insurance, employee compensation, parking space, childcare allowance, sick leave, maternity leaves, and annual leaves, among others. The key goal is to attract great talents and retain them in the organization. Hence, the paper analyses how health insurance impacts my future job research and compares and contrasts three New York City insurance offerings.
Why Health Insurance is an Important Job Research Factor
It is common for employers to provide a single coverage for their workers. Family coverage is provided less frequently, especially by smaller companies; nevertheless, such an offering would be a major factor in choosing my future job due to several reasons. First, employers cover 83% of a single health insurance cost, which significantly reduces possible healthcare expenditures. Secondly, at the beginning of my career, saving money is my priority, therefore, companies that are able to offer health insurance plans for my family and me will be prioritized as well. Family coverage is especially important as it is more expensive. Although employers cover 73% of the full plan cost on average, the actual sum of the compensation is significant, with $15,579 of the $21,342 of the year-long plan. Therefore, due to the high cost of full family insurance, offering coverage from the employer will act as a vital factor in my future job research.
Affordable Care Act
In 2010, the federal statute enacted a healthcare act, namely Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare, to address some health issues faced by Americans. The primary purpose of the bill was to provide insurance coverage that was affordable to all Americans (Keisler-Starkey & Bunch, 2021). The ACA was formulated to protect consumers from insurance policies that might increase healthcare costs or restrict care. ACA has enabled millions of Americans to receive health care coverage at a generally affordable rate. Nevertheless, some of the issues, such as higher insurance premiums and tax increases, were raised against Obamacare (Keisler-Starkey & Bunch, 2021). The ACA has increased the workload and costs of medical providers, and an overhaul or repeal seems to be the only option.
Implementation of acts like the ACA in the United States parliament is associated with several challenges. For instance, the insurance programs are both public and privatized. It is unlike other developed nations such as Japan, Canada, and most of the European countries that have health coverage for all its citizens (Keisler-Starkey & Bunch, 2021). It means that all citizens can receive primary health care through the government of these countries. In the United States, the Medicare program is intended to cater to the elderly and disabled, while Medicaid is meant for low-income citizens (Keisler-Starkey & Bunch, 2021). Some people depend on their employers to pay for their health insurance coverage, while others buy insurance coverage from private companies.
In the health insurance market, Affordable Care Acts Plans are some of the most common coverages offered by employers. There is a number of benefits associated with these type of plans, as they are some of the most comprehensible on the market. For example, expenses are covered for people with chronic illnesses or medical emergencies, which takes the employee’s financial burden. These plans also save costs in cases of routine doctor visits and check-ups, purchasing prescription drugs, preventive care, hospital stays, and more. Hence, this type of healthcare insurance plan provided by the employer is the most preferred one as it safeguards my health and financial well-being (Persad, 2020). However, not all organizations and companies are able to offer such kind of employee benefits due to their high cost. This is especially relevant for smaller businesses that may be preferred as companies where I can start my career. Therefore, such employers may offer an alternative to short-term plans.
Short-term Plans
Unlike the Affordable Care Act plans, short-term plan offerings are available year-round, which is convenient. ACA plans, on the other hand, have their application dates and deadlines, which may not correspond with my job research outcomes. Short-term plans have much lesser coverage of cases, and the coverage depends on the offering. The details of the plan may vary, and even legal consultation may be considered to negotiate the plan with an employer. Overall, it is a temporary solution, which can make a person ineligible for other health insurance (Persad, 2020). Therefore, there are many disadvantages of such type of health insurance offered by an employer, and it can only be considered after carefully studying the details of the plan.
Medical Indemnity Plan
The third type of health insurance is a medical indemnity plan. It can be frequently met in combination with other plans, for example, a short-term plan. This type of offer does not provide coverage; instead, it is known as a fee-for-service plan, where a client receives a fixed amount of money for a certain case (Aizawa, 2019). Hence, the offering is not sufficient to cover my family’s medical needs or mine. Same as the short-term plans, it does not meet the Affordable Care Act requirements (Persad, 2020). However, it may help me save costs on my healthcare, which in combination with a short-term plan, can be considered a good temporary solution.
Conclusion
Overall, the offering that does not meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act does not act as a major factor that would affect my future job research. Although it provides some type of financial employee benefit, the fact that a person that uses this type of plan may not be eligible for ACA plans of that year acts as a disadvantage. On the contrary, the companies that offer the ACA plans to their employees are perceived as much more employee-oriented ones. Full health insurance coverage speaks about the employer’s values that do not exploit but care for the well-being of workers. Therefore, Affordable Care Act Plans would act as a considerable employee benefit for me. Matters of health are compassionate, and any move to improve it is the better. I am convinced that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure; therefore, exercising my rights to medical care in a timely manner is very important to me.
References
Aizawa, N. (2019). Labor market sorting and health insurance system design. Quantitative Economics, 10(4), 1401-1451.
Keisler-Starkey, K. B., & Bunch, L. N. (2021). Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2020. United States Census Bureau.
Persad, G. (2020). Choosing Affordable Health Insurance. Geo. Wash. L. Rev., 88, 819.