I can't tell if this is satire. Are you suggesting that they should pay higher salaries to single people because they likely won't use the healthcare plan as much? Should younger and healthier people also be paid more?
> Are you suggesting that they should pay higher salaries to single people because they likely won't use the healthcare plan as much
Netflix does. Or at least did. They set aside money for insurance, and paid out whatever you didn't use as cash. People with spouses could just opt for the cash.
As a founder, I honestly wouldn't have expected this to be legal. AFAIK, startups aren't allowed to co-mingle salary + healthcare benefits like that.
E.g. you're breaking the law if you reimburse someone's healthcare plan directly or allow them to expense a health expense, even if you classify that as additional income for them, as opposed to having a dedicated HSA account.
Do you have a source? I'd be super interested in how it works, and I definitely may be wrong on this (I hope I am).
Why wouldn't it be legal? The allocate $10,000 pretax dollars per year for health care (this was 10 years ago, it's probably more now). You select whatever plan you want. They pay the premium. They then pay you the rest as taxed compensation.
It's legal for companies to pay your health plan with pre tax dollars. Basically they just set your salary a few bucks higher each month for whatever the difference is.
Some companies ONLY pay for the employee's health care premiums, and the premium for dependents comes out of their pocket.
In this case employee AND dependent premiums are paid by the company, so you could say that single people "get less." They get $500 worth of health insurance instead of the $1000 that other employees get.
(Not making a judgement on GP's argument, just adding context.)
Netflix does. Or at least did. They set aside money for insurance, and paid out whatever you didn't use as cash. People with spouses could just opt for the cash.