Successful Blog

Is Healthcare a Healthy Career Choice?

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ahealtherrAre you looking for a fulfilling career that will help you to grow both personally and professionally?

Then healthcare could be just the career choice for you. The healthcare field is always growing and diversifying, offering ample opportunities for those who want to move into the field, and making it a choice worth considering if you’re looking to change career or start something new.

What are some of the reasons healthcare is a great career choice going into 2015? And what skills do you need to succeed in healthcare?

Healthcare Is a Growing Field

As the article “6 Growing Health Care Careers” points out, healthcare is a growing industry and a great choice if you’re looking for a career where you are almost guaranteed to be in demand.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare practitioner jobs are expected to grow by 21.5 percent, and support occupations by 28.1 percent, by 2022. That’s twice as fast as the average for any other occupation.

Healthcare Offers Many Benefits

As well as being in demand, a career in healthcare offers numerous other benefits:

  • Good pay and benefits – Healthcare careers typically come with an attractive salary, often featuring on lists of well-paying jobs, and usually offer great benefits such as dental, medical, insurance and paid vacation time to boot;
  • Variety – If there’s one thing that can be said for certain about healthcare, it’s that there’s never a dull moment. As well as offering exciting work, you’ll be able to choose from a wide range of working environments;
  • Career choices – Healthcare careers offer plenty of opportunities for moving upwards and growing your career and your salary. The number of distinct careers in the healthcare field is staggering, from doctors and nurses to transcriptionists, pharmacists, radiologists, medical billers and much more;
  • Free education – Many healthcare employers offer continuing professional development and even on the job training for new members of the field, meaning you can continue to learn, grow and expand your skills;
  • Fulfilling – A career in healthcare means meeting with and helping people from all walks of life. If you’re a people person who enjoys contributing something positive to others, healthcare is a good career choice for you.

Skills That Will Help You Succeed In Healthcare

Even before you start filling out your admissions form, you might find you have plenty of transferable skills that will help you build a good healthcare career, be it in family medicine or another area of medical practice.

Here are some skills that are an asset for anyone working in healthcare:

  • Time management – Many healthcare careers are fast paced – good time management will help you excel;
  • Customer service – You’ll be dealing with the public a lot, so the ability to make the people you meet feel valued and looked after is invaluable;
  • Compassion – From colleagues working under pressure to nervous patients or worried relatives, the ability to show compassion and empathy will make you an excellent healthcare practitioner;
  • Good communication – You’ll be working with people from all walks of life and communicating at all levels, so good communication skills will be a great strength;
  • Calmness under pressure – If you can stay calm and help others feel supported when things get busy or stressful, you’ll be appreciated by colleagues and patients alike.

If you’re ready for a career that is exciting, fulfilling and full of interesting opportunities, healthcare could just be a healthy choice for you.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Tristan Anwyn writes on a wide variety of topics, including social media, SEO, healthcare careers and distance learning.

Are Your Employees Insured Against Disaster?

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adoccFor those who own their own small business, decisions must be made on a daily basis.

One of the big decisions that can weigh on the shoulders of small business owners is the one of whether to offer group health insurance or not.

For those owners trying to decide one way or another, check out the following FAQ’s for some answers:

Group Health Insurance FAQ

  1. Does a small business have to offer health insurance to its employees?

No. Unless a small business has 50 or more employees, group health insurance is completely optional.

  1. Why should small businesses offer health insurance to their employees?

If a small business owner does decide to offer group health insurance, his or her employees may seek health assistance quicker if a health issue arises and less work and time may be missed. Though health insurance is an expense to the employer, the goal is to save money in the long run by providing good health care options to employee so they can stay healthier and miss less work. If a serious illness or health condition arises, they’ll have security in getting the proper care they need.

Also, some employees may have benefits as one of their own job requirements. A small business owner can miss out on an excellent employee if they do not offer group health insurance. Many employees feel that if their employer cannot provide health insurance, the loyalty of the company is lacking and they may choose to go elsewhere, where insurance is covered.

  1. Should employees have a say in deciding on group insurance?

That would really be up to the employer, but usually it is better if the employer just makes these choices.

Employees have enough to choose from within the given plan; it’s probably best for the owner to go ahead and choose the best health insurance company to fit the needs of the small business and then offer the plan to the employees.

  1. How does an employer/small business owner go about choosing the best company to provide coverage?

The best way to narrow down the different providers is to begin with research. Employers should research online, make some phone calls and have a list ready with questions they have and whatever requirements they have for their company and employees.

Yes, it’s tough for a business owner to make so many decisions every day.

Figuring out his or her employee’s health care is not an easy one.

But if it is a possibility to offer the option of group health insurance, it’s a great way for a small business owner to make employees feel well taken care of.

As a small business owner, how have you gone about covering your employees?

Photo credit: Image courtesy of photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Heather Legg is a writer who covers topics on small business, social media and mindful living.

Making a Healthy Choice When It Comes to Insurance Plans

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ahealthcheckSmall business owners wrestling with the decision of whether to offer group health coverage to their employees have several more months before Obamacare’s small business insurance marketplace is fully operational.

Under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, businesses with 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees, or FTEs, are not obligated to provide such coverage for their workers.

However, many companies, both large and small, find they can better attract — and keep — top-quality employees if they offer health coverage as a benefit.

SHOP Postponed

The multiple problems following last fall’s launch of open enrollment for individual health coverage prompted the federal government to postpone for a year the opening of SHOP, known officially as the Small Business Health Options Program.

In the meantime, small businesses that want to move ahead with group health coverage can continue to purchase health plans that meet Obamacare standards from insurance brokers.

Also, businesses in states that have their own Obamacare exchanges can buy coverage in those marketplaces.

Guidelines for Eligibility

If you’re among the small business owners who are opting to wait until SHOP is fully operational, here’s what you need to know about the qualifications necessary for participation in the marketplace:

  • You must have a principal business address within the state where you’re seeking to buy coverage or have an eligible employee with a primary worksite within the state where you’re buying coverage;
  • You must have at least one common-law employee on your payroll other than the business owner, sole proprietor, or their spouses. A common-law employee is defined as anyone who performs services for you wherein you can control what will be done and how it will be done;
  • Your business must have 50 or fewer FTEs, including part-time employees, in order to be eligible to purchase health plans within the small business marketplace. Two part-time employees are equal to one FTE. A couple of years down the road, SHOP eligibility will be expanded to include businesses with 100 or fewer FTEs.

Pay o to 100% of Premium

Interestingly, small businesses that purchase health insurance plans through SHOP are not required to pay any of the premiums for such coverage, according to a Forbes analysis of small business options under Obamacare.

Employers can pay anywhere from 0 to 100 percent of the plan’s premium, and employees must pay the rest. This rule applies only to health insurance plans purchased through SHOP, which is the federal marketplace for small businesses, and is not necessarily applicable to coverage purchased through state-operated exchanges.

For example, employers purchasing coverage through California’s state-operated exchange must pay at least 50 percent of the premiums for such coverage.

No matter whether you plan to pay 100 percent, 50 percent, or none of the premiums for health coverage offered to your employees, there’s a significant tax benefit to buying through SHOP.

Premiums for all such plans are paid with pre-tax dollars. This means that whoever pays the premium — employer, employees, or both — gets a nice tax break.

Control the Coverage

Choosing a health insurance plan from SHOP allows the small business owner to control the coverage that is offered to employees and, as we’ve already seen, to decide how much, if any, to pay toward employee premiums.

If your small business has 25 or fewer FTEs and you decide to pay 50 percent or more of the premiums for health plans purchased from SHOP, you may be eligible for a small business tax credit for the premiums paid.

In order to be eligible for this tax credit, your employees must average less than $50,000 per year in annual wages. Forbes reports that many employers that are eligible for this tax credit are forgoing it because the calculations involved are “slightly cumbersome.”

4 Levels of Coverage

As a small business owner, you can select the level of coverage that will be available to your employees.

As for individual health plans, the four main levels of coverage are Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.

According to HealthCare.gov, these categories have nothing to do with quality of care but rather describe “the way your employees and the plan can expect to share costs for health care.” In other words, bronze plan coverage would require a higher copay for health services than would be charged under the other metal categories.

HealthCare.gov points out, however, that all plans available through SHOP must provide a set of essential health benefits.

Such benefits include ambulatory patient services, emergency services, hospitalization, maternity and newborn care, mental health and substance use disorder services, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services, laboratory services, preventive and wellness services, and pediatric services.

When evaluating health insurance plans in SHOP, you can compare side by side what services are available under the four levels of coverage.

As noted above, all must provide for the essential health benefits, but higher level plans are likely to have additional benefits.

And, of course, higher level plans cover more of the costs of services and thus have lower copays, if any.

Photo credit: Image courtesy of Vichaya Kiatying-Angsulee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

About the Author: Don Amerman is a freelance author who writes extensively about a wide array of business and personal finance topics.

Keeping Your Employees and Budget Healthy

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asuccessHealth insurance can turn into a crazy puzzle for small business owners.

Where larger companies, by law, must provide health insurance to their employees, small businesses have more leeway; however, this sometimes can just add to the confusion.

The bottom line, if you can afford to offer good medical coverage and health insurance to your employees, no matter how many you have – do it.

What if it’s a financial struggle?

There are instances where offering health insurance may not be feasible to your company financially.

If your company is small, you may not legally have to offer health insurance so you can consider these things in deciding to offer or not….

• Longevity of employees – It’s rare that part-time, independent or short term employees will receive medical coverage, and you’re not obligated to do so. Save the insurance benefits for your full time, permanent employees.

• If you have a tiny company, say just a handful of employees, you are not legally in a place to provide health insurance. If it’s financially not possible, you may choose to wait until your company grows financially and physically to offer health coverage.

• With the new laws in place under Obamacare, many small businesses can qualify for tax incentives by providing health coverage to their employees. Before writing it off as not possible, take a look into what you may gain by offering health insurance.

How does offering health insurance to your employees help you?

If you can, it will pay off in the long run if you provide health benefits to your employees….

• For one, some possible great employees may pass you up for a company that can provide health coverage for them. You don’t want to risk not getting the best because you don’t offer health care plans.

• Your employees may be more apt to stay for the long haul if they feel comfortable with the health care plan you can offer. People will shift companies depending on health care these days, as it a big expense to pay for it on your own. If you can offer it, do so.

• You can help your employees by avoiding lapses in health insurance coverage. When they come on board, you can have your plan go right into effect rather than having your employees search out medical insurance in the midst of taking on a new job.

• Employees with an insurance tie will feel more invested in the company itself and this can improve their satisfaction, engagement and overall well-being with your company and their job.

• You’ll save on sick days and illness within the work place. Those with medical coverage are more apt to visit a doctor than those without. Though you may lose a few hours or a day to a doctor visit, it beats a week or more for those who don’t get the needed medical care. It also can prevent sickness from spreading in the office, like strep throat or the flu – two things which can really take an office down.

No one likes to talk about medical coverage – it’s a big expense and a lot to think about it.

But if you want happy, healthy employees, you probably need to consider it.

Photo credit: hipstercrite.com

About the Author: Heather Legg is a writer covering topics related to small business, health and well-being, and social media.