However, employers must consider if this cost reduction strategy is helping the medium to long term growth of their companies. If one would think about it, what is more costly? The premiums a company has to pay for group health insurance or the cost to lose a good employee to a competitor who offers health care benefits? Indeed there is a higher price on the down time, training costs, and lost sales or manufacturing. Fortunately it no longer has to be a choice of one or the other.

One solution for high cost of health insurance premiums is a non-insurance solution. Discount Health Care Plans. This alternative to health insurance only costs a fraction of what a traditional group insurance policy would. More importantly, it still meets the health care needs of a company's employees on a discounted basis.

These programs are not insurance but rather medical savings programs. It's more like having a health care advocate by which medical bills of members are reduced before they even start. Employees still have to pay for their healthcare, but the employer gets the credit of giving them substantial savings on medical, dental, vision, hearing, pharmacy and many other types of necessary medical care. These programs can also be used to supplement existing insurance programs with high deductibles or policies that pay a flat fee for hospital stays or certain conditions.

Affordable health care becomes possible through group representation. Discount Health Care Plan providers carry enough clout to get prices reduced down to what insurance companies have enjoyed for years. In other words since they have enough participating members, they have superior buying power in order to negotiate discounts with providers of medical products and services. Some Discount Health Care Plans have been around for 23 years. These programs combine fully insured benefits to health care providers through group blanket policies that cover its members.

These Plans provide affordable health care coverage to its members by giving access to hundreds of thousands of doctors, dentists, specialists, labs, pharmacies and hospitals throughout the U.S. that have agreed to charge significantly reduced pre-negotiated rates for procedures that can be

"To date, I've had the opportunity to utilize the discount health care services on numerous occasions and have always been pleased with the savings. Last February, I had a hospital bill that was $2900.00 and reduced to just $410.00. I had a pinched nerve in my shoulder and went to the chiropractor. The initial charge was $620.00, but I only paid $203.00. My chiropractic treatments also went from $62.00 to $40.00. At the dentist, my savings have been about 60%. My brother, who is also a member, has prescriptions that were $574.00 and through our mail order program are now $299.80. The best part was that it was easy to use. All I did was call the member's support phone number and they took care of everything." - Richard P., Dallas, TX

Membership fees are significantly lower than traditional health insurance. Membership fees can be anywhere from $8 per month for minimal benefits to $50 per month for the comprehensive packages. Furthermore, companies get up to 20% discount on membership fees when they enroll 25 members or more.

For employers who can no longer provide health insurance for their staff, these discount health care plans could just be the answer. A service that is in many ways similar, and some would argue, better than health insurance at only a fraction of the cost. Companies can still reduce their cost on insurance benefits while gaining loyalty from their employees.
About the Author

Abel Quitoriano is the webmaster of EZ-Entry-Medical-Dental-Benefits.com. A free resoucrce on affordable health care alternatives for the millions of people in America who do not have health insurance coverage. Either they can't afford or they are not eligible due to pregnancy or pre-existing conditions.