How Construction can Build Savings on Rising Health Insurance Costs

The cost of health insurance is steadily on the rise and everyone is feeling the financial strain as a result, including construction companies.

The question is, how can construction companies both large and small lower health insurance expenses without losing workers in the process?

With healthy construction in mind, here are just a few ways the construction industry is handling skyscraper-high health insurance rates.

What construction companies are doing

Almost every industry in the United States is experiencing financial issues due to the rising cost of healthcare, but the construction industry is feeling the worst strain.

Due to the inherent dangers associated with construction work, insurance providers are upping a rate, which doesn't make the Affordable Care Act very affordable for construction companies.

Because of this, many construction companies in the US are already jumping into action in order to avoid the higher costs.

They’re looking at:

• Tax Credits - Construction companies with fewer than 25 full-time employees are applying for healthcare tax credits through the government. These tax credits help companies save a percentage of the money they put toward their workers' insurance at the end of each tax year.

• Higher Deductibles - Another popular route for construction companies is raising their workers deductibles. With this option, the employer still contributes to the overall plan, but it's the employee's responsibility to stay healthy and keep cost in mind when choosing a health insurance plan that fits their health needs and budget.

• Eating the Fees - There are a number of construction companies that simply don't have the money to cover health insurance. Because of this, they choose to eat the cost that goes along with not providing coverage to their workers. This is anywhere from a $500 to $1,000 fee per employee per year, which is still a lower cost than offering coverage.

Construction companies are also a taking a proactive approach to handling the rising cost of health insurance by:

Increasing worksite safety standards

A safe worksite is a healthy worksite, which is why so many construction companies are ramping up their safety efforts at work.

Safer work environments result in fewer onsite injuries and accidents, which translate to health insurance saving for workers and the company.

Avoiding long-term contracts

Some construction jobs are more dangerous than others.

When it comes to jobsites that pose the most health risks, many construction companies are making sure the contracts are shorter in order to limit the exposure to high-risk construction situations.

Likewise, if the financial reward doesn't outweigh the health insurance risks involved, then some construction companies tend to avoid the contract altogether. Besides, working multiple smaller jobs with lower risk levels is always more fruitful than taking a large risk on a major long-term contract.

Taking an aggressive approach to claims

It's unfortunate, but accidents on the job do happen.

In the event of an accident at the worksite, proactive construction companies are taking an aggressive claims approach by collecting witness statements, taking photographs, and recording all of the facts as they happened. The insurance provider uses all of this information to decide a claims amount, which drastically affects insurance costs.

When it comes to healthcare coverage in the construction industry, it's plain to see that companies are doing all they can to lower costs.

About the Author: Adam Groff is a freelance writer and creator of content. He writes on a variety of topics including business healthcare and budgeting.