small business health insurance

Small Business Health Insurance

If your company employs at least two, but no more than fifty people, small business health insurance can benefit both you and your employees alike. When you choose a group plan, you can save on personal health care costs, increase tax deductions, and boost job satisfaction within your company.

Small business health insurance has lots of benefits. Besides providing medical care for yourself and your employees, a small business health insurance plan helps spread the financial risk between all the members, which usually means lower premiums and more extensive coverage for everyone.

But this insurance has tax advantages too. Employer contributions to a small business health insurance plan are generally 100% tax deductible, and employees save on payroll taxes.

Small businesses (and certain organizations, like non-profits) are generally eligible for group health insurance so long as they can show two or more full-time taxable employees.

How it Works

A small business health insurance plan provides its members with a set coverage with rates calculated using the group and individuals. Employees may be able to add policy riders and additional coverage to fit their specific needs, but the basic policy format will remain the same.

Likewise, although small business health insurance comes in a variety of shapes and sizes (fee-for-service, HMO, PPO, POS), the format that's chosen will apply to all members. Although rate calculations vary both from state to state and from company to company, the cost of a group health insurance plan is based on the characteristics of each member, including:

• Age
  


• Health status
  


• Occupational hazard
  


• Business and/or residential location

Employees of a business that offers group health insurance are not compelled to join the plan, but the group must maintain a minimum number of insured (as few as 2 people, depending on the policy) to guarantee coverage.

Only businesses with 2-50 employees qualify for small business health insurance. If you are self-employed and no one else works for you, look into buying health insurance for self employed individuals. Also you can apply for some supplemental health insurance plans to safeguard your interests. Search online for a national health insurance provider to apply for the health insurance plans of your choice.

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