No one wants nor plans to get injured or sick, but we all know for sure that we will need to seek medical assistance at some point in our lives, for which group health insurance plans can be the answer for some people.
That can be a stressful experience in more ways than one. The costs correlated with receiving medical treatment can be excessive and severely strain anyone’s finances. In this post we’re going to cover group health insurance plans and what they entail.
Health insurance is a basic necessity, and that is something employers recognize. That’s why many try to secure great employment and benefits packages to stay competitive in the market. Health insurance plans are perhaps the most important thing employees will look at when choosing an employer. Getting ahold of the best group health insurance plan has to be a top priority of an employer.
Group Insurance Health plans aim to provide coverage to a group of members, usually composed of employees in a company or members of the organization. Through this type of insurance, the individual members will obtain insurance at a reduced cost because the risk is spread across a group of policyholders.
The companies buy this insurance and offer it to their employees. As the name clearly states, groups, not individuals, are the only ones who can purchase group health insurance plans.
Here’s How Group Insurance Health Plans Work
When a company chooses a plan, the group members are given options whether they want to accept or decline coverage. In some cases, the plan offered can come in tiers, from basic coverage to advanced one with an array of add-ons that you can choose from.
The group health insurance plans are sought after because they are cheaper than individual health plans. They can also be extended to the immediate family or any other dependant of the group member for an additional cost. Premiums are split between the organization and the group members, and this type of insurance requires at least 70% participation.
Due to many differences (insurers, costs, plan types, and terms of conditions, to name a few), there is a practically infinite number of plans to chose from. Just here at Health Estimates, we offer over one hundred plans with competitive benefits to choose from. If you are a business owner looking for group health insurance plans in Illinois , Indiana , Florida, or Pennsylvania, stay tuned to learn more about what we offer to our potential clients.
And we have dedicated our careers to supporting small businesses. If you have a small business, here’s a couple of things that will sure be of interest to you: coverage is ordinarily a guaranteed issue, and you need at least one employee to quality. It’s that easy!
In addition to this, group health insurance plans provide not only coverage that’s more affordable but also BETTER. What do we mean by that? It’s simple. Individual Health insurance plans can exclude pre-existing conditions, but under the Affordable Care Act, not only are the pre-existing health conditions included, but they generally have no bearing on the rates neither.
Things To Consider Beforehand
Here are some of the things you need to consider before obtaining group health insurance and selecting the best plan for your needs and your employees’ needs:
- Monthly Premiums– you need to look into what both you and your employees will be able to afford on a monthly level. An average annual premium for employer-sponsored plans in 2017 was $6,690. This amount relates to single coverage, with employers covering 82% of the premium on average.
- Deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments– make sure that these types of payments are manageable for the members of your group health insurance plan. You don’t want to overly-strain them financially when receiving medical care.
- Medical Provider Networks– Ensure that your preferred doctors or facilities are included in your new coverage, so you get the best value for your money.
- Prescription drug coverage– Make sure that you check which plans cover certain prescriptions to guarantee that both you and your employees have access to the medication you require.
- Coverage Add-ons– you can also choose different coverages to add to the basic coverage plan you have chosen. You can add dental or vision care to make sure your employees are taken care of in every sense of that word.
Reasons Why Companies Should Provide Health Insurance
According to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), companies with fewer than 50 employees are not required to obtain health insurance for their employees.
In contrast, this is mandated by law for companies with over 50 employees on the payroll. But there many reasons why you should want to go ahead with providing health insurance for your employees, even if you operate a smaller company.
Here’s just some of them:
- Tax-deductibles– Did you know that the money paid in monthly employee premiums is usually tax-deductible?
- When it comes to employees, as premium amounts are paid with pre-tax dollars, they can be used to decrease their taxable income.
- If your small business is proven eligible, you can qualify for small businesses’ health care tax credit.
- The premiums are more affordable than for individual health insurance plans due to the risk being spread across a larger risk pool. In that way, the potentially higher insurance cost of any individual is then balanced out by the premiums paid by the other members of the group.
- You bring additional value to your company, making sure you can attract and retain top talent with excellent employment and benefits packages. In this way, you guarantee that your company stays profitable and continues to run smoothly.
What We Do For Our Clients
Here at Health Estimates, we take care of our clients and are always at their disposal, and we strongly believe that we can provide you with the best group health insurance plan you can find anywhere in Illinois, Indiana, Florida, or Pennsylvania.
We are aware that the uncertainty that’s prevailing in the world is putting a lot of stress on everyone, and we don’t want health insurance to be one of the many sources for anxiety.
Contact us immediately to get a quick quote for your business or obtain any necessary information you might require, so your employees can have their peace of mind and continue to exceed your expectations.
You can contact us by heading over to our contact page or calling us at 219 321-0009 or 708 754-5300.