There are many reasons that a company should offer health insurance to their employees that work in the oil patch industry. Besides the obvious dangers from flammable gases, fire, explosion and equipment malfunction, workers need to know that if they face an illness or family crisis it is not going to cause them to go deep into debt or risk losing their home or other assets.
The petroleum industry operates on a global level and whether a company is in operation in Oklahoma, Kansas or overseas, workers need to be protected from injury and illness. While companies will often perform random drug testing in the oilfield to help ensure safety on the job, it’s also a good policy to offer health benefits that will ensure workers have access to care when needed whether due to illness or injury at work or when off the clock. This is not only an important benefit for workers, but it’s also something that companies need to offer to help benefit the company overall.
Why Should Oil Patch Companies Offer Health Insurance to Workers?
There are many reasons that offering private health insurance for oil patch workers is a great benefit for the worker, but what about the benefits for the company itself?
COMPETITION
With around 9,000 independent oil companies just within the United States, companies can face hefty competition to hire the mot qualified oil patch workers and to help reduce that competition, health insurance benefits are a great leverage tool. While most companies today offer health insurance, it’s wise to stay on top of things by offering benefits that have the best rates or will provide the best services when needed.
TAXES
Companies can take advantage of saving on their annual taxes when they utilize employee health plans as part of their overall business expenses.
COMPANY PRODUCTIVITY
When workers can be at work, productivity levels are much higher than when work crews are missing a team member. Workers that have access to quality healthcare tend to be able to work harder and produce more than workers that either come to work sick or those that call in day after day.
It’s a good idea for companies to offer quality health insurance benefits to their workers that include coast to coast protection plans or travel policies for those working internationally, 24-hour support, affordable premiums and plans that work for the individual as well as their family.
Why Oil Patch Workers Need Health Insurance
We know why companies need to provide health insurance for their oil patch workers, but what are the benefits for the individual to have health insurance?
1. Preventive care options including vaccines, checkups and screenings can help reduce the risk of costly health expenses.
2. Treating illness or injury is far more affordable when you have quality health insurance.
3. Emergency services and prescription drugs are usually covered by health insurance.
4. Health insurance can help protect you, and your wallet, from the high cost of medical care. Even with copays, the overall out of pocket expense will be less than with no coverage.
5. A serious illness or a traumatic event such as a car accident, on the job injury or other injury can lead to financial ruin. Health insurance benefits can help cover the expense of medical care and can even help prevent being sued for having to file bankruptcy due to escalating debt.
Health insurance is one of those services that you need to have, but hope you never have to use. It’s a great benefit to have however when you find yourself sick or injured and in need of medical care without having to worry about extreme out of pocket expenses.