Rising premiums are draining budgets and weakening competitiveness, but new benefit models offer practical ways to control costs and stay competitive.

BY GAYLE JENNINGS O'BYRNE, FOUNDER AND CEO, WOCSTAR CAPITAL

Photo: Getty Images

Health insurance has quietly become one of the most punishing financial pressures facing American entrepreneurs. Individuals feel it searching the ACA marketplace. Small-business owners feel it in their payroll budgets. The question has shifted from how to offer better benefits to how much longer coverage is even sustainable.

I get it. You want to take care of your people. They’ve been loyal, they’ve put in the work, and they deserve the security that comes with decent health coverage. But when premiums are devouring your margins and threatening the sustainability of your entire operation, caring for your team becomes a high-stakes balancing act between compassion and survival. 

In today’s labor market, health insurance is not a perk. It is the baseline cost of competing for talent. Without it, you limit the quality of people you attract and the ability to keep your strongest performers. Businesses that step away from offering benefits face a different set of expenses. And companies without health........

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