For most small employers, offering health insurance plans to their employees can be a great challenge. These challenges may be less bargaining power with health insurers, not having access to dedicated HR professionals to manage their employee benefits package, and having smaller budgets. Therefore, many of them prefer the best small group health insurance plans. Let us see more about these plans.
Small group health insurance plans are medical plans that small employers can buy to offer all employees with health insurance. These options are specifically designed for small organizations and startups looking to attract and retain the top talent. To qualify for the best small group health insurance plans, an employer should have between 2-50 full-time employees, pay a portion of their employees’ premiums, and meet the minimum participation requirement set by the health provider. Most of them require at least 75% of your eligible employees to enroll in the policy.
What do Small Group Insurance Plans Cover?
Small-group health insurance plans vary as per their provider. However, all of them must comply with the Affordable Care Act’s health coverage requirement, which means that they should fit into one of the four metal levels of coverage, i.e., platinum, gold, silver, and bronze.
These plans should also cover the ACA’s essential health benefits, which include hospitalization, emergency services, maternity and newborn care, lab tests, prescription drugs, preventative services, mental health disorders treatment services and substance abuse issues, ambulance services, including doctor’s visits, rehabilitative and habilitative services, pediatrics services including dental and vision care, and ambulatory services including visits to doctors, outpatient hospital care and other healthcare professionals.
However, small-group health insurance plans do not include any coverage for vision and dental care for adults. But these can be offered as benefit riders that can be added through an additional fee. You may also provide ancillary benefits for vision and dental coverage separately.
How to Enroll in a Small Group Health Insurance Plan?
You can purchase small group health insurance plans directly from an insurance company, through a broker, private exchange, or licensed agent, or from the Small Business Health Options Program. The last option is best suited when you have less than 25 employees. You can also qualify for the small business healthcare tax credit that can pay for your contributions to health insurance premiums.
How Much Will It Cost You?
Small group health insurance plans require you to cover a certain portion of your employee’s health insurance premiums, but this minimum contribution will differ with the state you reside in and the provider you choose. You can expect a required contribution of at least 50% of your employees’ premiums while they cover the rest. Most of the small group health plans allow you to cover a higher percentage, and you can also contribute to a portion of the premium costs for your employees’ dependents. Moreover, you need to know that the overall health of your employees no longer impacts group health insurance rates. So your premium will not be affected by how high-risk your employees are if they have a pre-existing condition or health status.
Conclusion
So if you are a small employer looking for group health insurance for your employees, this might be the perfect option. So invest your time in exploring and understanding your available options and find the right one.
Featured Image Source: https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1483243964/photo/young-black-couple-signing-a-contract-with-insurance-agent-in-the-office.webp?b=1&s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=ZYVQrgnILpr5YtbfrxulxLENIdNeKFau9Th1sjIBBAQ=