58% of You Offer Health Insurance, the Remainder Don’t

question:

Do you or don’t you offer health insurance?

Yes: 58%

• I think our staff is happy with it. There’s not much feedback on it, and only 2 of the 5 staff even have it. — Emily Choate, F.Y. Eye Care Associates, Charlotte, NC
• We offer a health/wellness spending account. They like it because they can claim health expenses and wellness items. — Geoff Graham, Lake Country Optometry, Lake Country, BC
• Two tiers of health plans. PPO or DMO for dental. Vision plan. Premiums are very high but that’s because of the so-called affordable plan act. Less coverage that costs 3x more with employer-based plans to cover everyone else who gets subsidized through the marketplace. — Chris Clark, Oskaloosa Vision Center, Oskaloosa, IA
• Stipend monthly they can use on open market. — Adam Ramsey, OD, Socialite Vision, Palm Beach Gardens, FL
• We offer a health reimbursement account (HRA) for staff. They choose their plan or can be on their partners plan and we reimburse their portion each month up to a set amount. This encourages them to choose wisely. It also allows each staff member to choose the plan that works best for them. It has tax advantages for staff and for us as employers. — Scott Mann, OD, INVISION, Christiansburg, VA
• It’s a basic medical plan and very few employees are enrolled, most are covered under their spouse’s plan. — Christine Howard, Eyes on Plainville, Attleboro, MA
• Ok with it, in our area small group plans are super expensive. — Lisa Smith, Precision Eye Care, Vancouver, WA
• But it’s the pricey state insurance so… — Jeff Grosekemper, Casa De Oro Eyecare, Spring Valley, CA
• Happy is probably an overstatement. Insurance in this country continues to be a mess. — Jordan Flitter, Paris West Optical, Baltimore, MD
• Full medical and yes very happy. — Chris Clark, Advanced Eye Care Optical Shoppe, Panama City, FL
• Two plans with good benefits and our staff are happy. — Steve Burek, Metro Eye, Milwaukee, WI
• Staff has their own insurance through their husbands employment so I give them $500.00 every quarter to help with their insurance. — Texas L. Smith, OD, Dr. Texas L. Smith & Associates, Citrus Heights, CA
• We offer health insurance. We found a great plan and pay 90% of the premium. Our employees love the plan we found, it is great! — Sophia Pray, Huntley Eye Care, Huntley, IL
• We have “good” insurance (not many can afford great) and offer Aflac for those that are interested. The Aflac has been a great addition in terms of use and benefits. — Dave Goodrich, Goodrich Optical, Lansing, MI
• It’s EXPENSIVE because we’re a small company but it covers a lot. — Cindy Henderson, Eyear Optical, Hixson, TN
• Medical and pharmacy coverage. — Melanie Jenkins, Spring Hill Eyecare, Spring Hill, TN
• I pay 100% of employee premium. I’m sure they’d like a lower deductible but premiums get pretty pricey. — Robert Lootens, Physicians Optical Service, Jefferson City, MO
• Medical only and it’s just so so. — Stephanie Crowley, Sie Eyecare, Charlotte, NC
• Medical only, vision is supplied by the doctor. The plan is not the best, but we have a very limited selection in our area for small businesses. I am the decision maker so I know. — Lisa Smith, Precision Eye Care, Vancouver, BC
• We offer a PPO and an HMO option. Some staff opt out. No complains so far other than the high cost for the business. — Diana Canto-Sims, Buena Vista Optical, Chicago, IL
• We offer a full coverage plan with optional dental coverage. Not all staff opts in due to the cost. — Sonja Franklin, OD, Modern Eyes, Austin, TX
• Yes, our company offers a decent health insurance coverage policy. Few employees complain about it, if any. It has a low deductible and covers a majority of visits, procedures, or medications needed. — Colby Spivey, Vision Center South, Dothan, AL
• Everything including dental. — Richard Frankel, OD, Atlantic Cape Eyecare, Wildwood, NJ

No: 42%

• Aflac to all employees after 90 days. — Caitlin Neal, San Juan Eye Center, Montrose, CO
• I am still a one man show and have my health insurance through my veterans benefits. — William Chancellor, Eye Can See Eyewear, Forsyth, GA
• We have a very small group and we all have coverage through a spouse. However, if there is anything that we SHOULD learn from vision plans, it’s that maybe health insurance isn’t all its purported to be. I pay out-of-pocket to go to a functional medicine doctor who actually does something to help me and I would give financial support to an employee who wished to do the same. — Nikki Griffin, EyeStyles Optical and Boutique, Oakdale, MN
• But we will in the new year. — Kevin Count, Prentice Lab, Glenview, IL
• There are only two of us and our spouses provide. — Jennifer Leuzzi, Mill Creek Optical, Dansville, NY
• In our state, it is not financially feasible and when we ran the analytics most of our staff would get worse coverage for a price similar to, or more than, they are paying now. — Zachary Dirks, OD, St. Peter and Belle Plaine Eyecare Centers, Saint Peter, MN
• Too small of an office. I do give them an allowance in their paycheck monthly to use towards the purchase of private health insurance if they need it. — Cynthia Sayers, OD, EyeShop Optical Center, Lewis Center, OH
• Too expensive for a small business. We poll our staff every so often, and they always opt for higher salaries rather than add medical insurance… probably because most of them already have coverage available to them through spouses. — Jen Heller, Pend Oreille Vision Care, Sandpoint, ID
• As of right now, I’m the only person that’s not covered by a spouse or parent’s insurance plan. If/when the time comes that we have an employee that needs benefits we would offset the cost of whatever the plan they need is. — Travis LeFevre, Krystal Vision & LFVR Eyewear, Logan, UT
• I am self-employed and only staff. — Jennifer Yerden, Sights and Shades, Canandaigua, NY
• Our staff is so small and everyone is already on their husband’s or parents’ insurance. If I offer it, they would have additional money pulled from their checks just to have worse insurance than they already have. Additionally, if we offer it, many companies would force their employee’s spouses to accept it so it would require them to make the switch. Once we have more staff without insurance, we will consider it. — Nytarsha Thomas, OD, Visionelle Eyecare, Zionsville, IN
• Just me working here so far, I eventually hope to offer it. — Kyla Skinner, Specs by Kyla, Atascadero, CA