Best Health Benefits for Restaurant Employees

Offering health benefits to your employees can help retain restaurant workers and boost loyalty. However, health insurance is not required if you run a small business with less than 50 full-time employees. Applicable large employers with 50 or more full-time employees must provide health insurance and follow the Affordable Care Act (ACA) guidelines or will otherwise face fines.  

Mira offers an affordable health coverage solution for individuals, families, and workers. Starting at an average of $25 per month, small business employers can now offer their workers healthcare that meets their budget. Members have access to urgent care, virtual care, as well as highly discounted prescriptions and lab testing.

Best Health Benefits for Restaurant Employees

If a restaurant has fewer than 50 full-time employees, it is not required to offer health insurance to employees. However, offering health benefits can help reduce employee turnover in an industry where a restaurant’s employee tenure averages 26 days. Only 31 percent of restaurants offer their workers health insurance, making restaurant employees one of the most uninsured groups of workers.

The restaurant industry still has some of the highest rates of underinsured and uninsured workers, resulting in financial insecurity and causing high-quality workers to frequently leave the industry for greater stability in their paycheck and benefits. Some options to provide health benefits to restaurant employees include the following: 

• Restaurant Association Plan: Best for RHA Members
• SHOP Coverage: Best for Comprehensive Coverage
• Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs): Best for Flexibility
• Subscriptions and Stipends: Best for Promoting Mental Health and Wellness
• Care Membership Plans: Best for Affordability

Restaurant Association Plan: Best for RHA Members

The Restaurant and Hospitality Association Benefit Trust is a health care solution for hospitality groups with 6-50 eligible employees. The trust is insured by UnitedHealthcare, but is not available in all states, and is only offered to members of the National Restaurant Association. Some of the features included in the RHA Benefit Trust:

• Over 40 different health plan designs
• Simplified administration
• Access to wellness programs and services
• Management carve out available

SHOP: Best for Comprehensive Coverage

The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) allows small employers to provide health and dental insurance to their employees. Qualifying small businesses that participate in the program may be eligible for the Small Business Healthcare Tax Credit, which covers up to 50 percent of the cost of providing insurance under the following conditions:

• Fewer than 25 full-time employees
• Employees earn on average less than about $55,000 annually
• The employer pays more than 50 percent of the premium
• The plan is offered to all full-time employees
• The policy is bought through the Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP). Use the Small Business Health Care Tax Credit Estimator to see if you qualify.