"healthcare costs companies alot of money, and it may be something that a large percentage of them would like to avoid"
They are reducing it, by putting a larger share of the cost on to the employee.
The key here is not that health insurance becomes affordable via an employer, it's that it becomes at all possible via an employer for many employees.
Recognizing that, it just becomes an exercise in how large a share of the cost employers can shift to their employees, factoring in their ratio of young/healthy/mobile workers to old/needy/trapped workers.
They are reducing it, by putting a larger share of the cost on to the employee.
The key here is not that health insurance becomes affordable via an employer, it's that it becomes at all possible via an employer for many employees.
Recognizing that, it just becomes an exercise in how large a share of the cost employers can shift to their employees, factoring in their ratio of young/healthy/mobile workers to old/needy/trapped workers.