Help & How-To

Human Resources
Do businesses normally reimburse employees if they decline their health insurance premium?
We pay our employees' health insurance and 50% of their family's. This is the first time in 12 years an employee has asked what his reimbursement amount would be if he declined our health insurance. Do I reimburse the full amount monthly or a percentage? Thanks, Cindy Strow

Asked by DSTROW
Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2007  |  Found in Human Resources


More answers by Penny Morey
Answer by Penny Morey
It is not usual and customary, but some companies do it.  Most companies simply charge the employees enough of a portion of the premium to discourage anyone who does not need the coverage from enrolling in it.  But going the extra step to pay employees an amount of taxable income if they do not enroll for health coverage is a practice mostly used by smaller employers whose health coverage cost-per-employee is a serious expense.  As long as the employee has health coverage through another source, it is not a bad practice; but it is also not really necessary and I would not recommend that a business start doing this as a general rule.   

What I think is at the other end of the spectrum and not a good trend are the companies that are now actually requiring employees who have spouses with access to health insurance coverage to take their spouses’ dependent coverage regardless of whose coverage is better for the employee and his/her family.  This new trend is worrisome on a number of levels in my opinion.  
Penny is a seasoned human resources executive and consultant with over 25 years of diverse business experience in advising enterprise leaders on employment-related matters.


Recent Articles & Resources
We've gathered content from some of the best resources on the web. Find tips to help you run a successful business with this collection of videos, articles, expert blogs, and more.
Marketing and promotion
Nancy Meyers talks about how leveraging new mediums and taking innovative approaches are often necessary to the successful marketing and promotion of

Building and maximizing your network
Use this worksheet to identify the people you want to connect with, where and how to find them and how to make sure you’re spending your valuable

Assessing customer profitability
It’s a standard business adage that it is easier (and less expensive) to sell to a current customer than to acquire a new one. Determining which of

Pitching your business
Whether you are making a sales presentation, seeking financing, networking at an event, or even just chatting with a neighbor, you need to have your

Marketing your business on search engines
To get the results you want from your search engine programs, it helps to learn about how search engines work. Once you’re comfortable with search
Have a burning question? Ask now!

Meet the Experts