Attracting and retaining staff is the biggest problem facing doctors these days. While pay raises remain important, employees are placing more emphasis on good benefits, particularly healthcare. So, it’s critical to have a well-thought-out program of health benefits that will motivate your staff without breaking your practice’s bank account. Here are our recommendations.

Providing Staff Health Insurance Coverage

The percentage of practices offering staff health insurance peaked at 75% in 2007 and decreased to 54% in 2016 after the Small Business Health Insurance tax credits were phased out. Our recent member survey revealed a slight increase, with 58% of responding practices now offering staff health insurance coverage. Due to changes brought about by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), we believe the percentage of doctors providing coverage over the next three years may well decline.

Inflationary Premium Increases

Despite inflation, most responding doctors saw only modest premium increases last year. 39% indicated their premiums rose in the 6-10% range, while another 19% saw lower premium increases of 0-5%. Only 42% of practices suffered double-digit premium increases over the past year, with...