Obamacare requires me to pay for health insurance directly for my 279 employees otherwise I must pay a ~$4k/head penalty to the IRS. The entire point of my original comment was to refute the notion that counting benefits as income is a “very Republican” idea, because it was a Democrat would thought of it and made it a law.
I know a business owner who just pays the penalty. It's actually better for his workers in Massachusetts, since they get state-subsidized healthcare that is better than what he could get for the cost of the penalty.
So, consider doing that. Taking the $4000 penalty from the $7800 you currently pay, that leaves $3800 that can be split between you and the worker. (split it as needed to attract and keep talent)
Depending on the state you are in, the workers needing insurance might do better having some portion of that $3800 than having the insurance you can get for them. You may even have workers who get insurance from elsewhere, such as a parent or spouse, and they'd much prefer a portion of the $3800 saved.
