sam?s club helps solve small business owner?s number one problem.
by marilyn carr, strategy consulting practice leader
when sam?s club asked over 1,000 small business owners to rank expenses that are of most importance to their operations, health insurance topped the list ahead of broadband access, phone service, fuel and advertising costs. two out of three (66 percent) small businesses told the nfib that healthcare was their single most important problem this year ? up from 47 percent four years earlier. a survey by the kaiser family foundation showed that annual premiums have increased an average of 60% over the past four years.
increase in health insurance premiums
source: the kaiser family foundation employer benefits survey, 2005
sam?s club took action on the results of its survey by offering small business owners two ways to keep healthcare costs down: savings on group health insurance for employees and a health and medical discount program that allows its members to save up to 50% on healthcare products and services through partnership with healthallies. mercer human resource consulting have found that many small business employers are managing their costs by making ?design? changes to their benefits plans. in english, this typically means shifting the cost of the plan to employees ? a dangerous tactic in a competitive labor market. the sam?s club approach allows employers to reduce both their own pinch and the downstream squeeze for employees.
not every supplier is in the position to develop offerings that are directly related to health insurance. consider other types of benefits that the business can pass on to its employees to offset the requirement to shoulder more of the healthcare cost burden. for example, a bundle that allows more employees to have company cell phones; the ability to pool and transfer loyalty reward points as employee perks, or the ability to extend corporate discounts or savings to employee personal purchases.