Five reasons small business owners should offer Health Savings Accounts.

Health insurance costs continue to go up every year. Employers, in trying to provide coverage, have often been forced to change coverage, raise deductibles or limit choices. That's why small business owners would be wise to consider Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which are considered employee-driven as opposed to employer-driven. By being employee-driven, HSAs place more of the initial cost of healthcare on the employee, which should in turn allows for better control of how their dollars are spent, and the ability to save the unused contributions in the HSA for future needs.

1. In order to qualify for an HSA, an employee must be covered under an HSA-eligible health plan. Premiums for HSA-eligible health plans often cost significantly less than others, resulting in cost savings for employers.

2. Employers who fund employees' HSAs are essentially providing an incentive for employees to check on the cost of procedures and medical services, as the money that is spent is coming from their savings account. This price comparison may in the long run reduce healthcare costs.

3. People with HSAs often have a financial incentive to take better care of themselves through preventative care. They are less likely to wait until a health problem becomes a serious illness, since they know that paying medical expenses will be coming out of their pocket.

4. An HSA is a way for employers to provide a valuable, tax-sheltered form of compensation at a low cost to its employees. Employer contributions made on behalf of employees are deducted on the employer's federal business income tax return for that year without regard to whether the contributions are used (unlike other types of benefits, which are only deductible in the year in which such benefits are actually paid).

5. Another important reason to offer HSAs to employees is the fact that finding and keeping good employees often depends on your benefits package. A competitive health care plan that includes an HSA can be a determining factor for potential hires.