For small businesses in Florida, the decision to offer—or not to offer—group health insurance can be difficult.
The perception among many small business owners is that health insurance is expensive to offer and difficult to administer, and therefore simply not appropriate for businesses with few employees and small profit margins. Yet despite the added expense and paperwork, adding group health care to your benefits package can have hidden payoffs for your company, especially if you take the time to research the right type of insurance plan.
So, why should you offer your employees group health insurance as part of your employee benefits package? While it’s easy to see—but hard to qualify—some benefits, such as happier, healthier employees, there are two very real, very quantifiable benefits:
- Hiring and retaining high quality employees. Individual health insurance is expensive to purchase, especially for families. So for many employees, the cost savings they experience by participating in a group health plan may be better, and therefore more important, than a higher salary. Thus, by offering a group health plan, you make your company more attractive to high quality employees.
- Small Business Premium Tax Credit. Small businesses—meaning those that employ fewer than 25 people—may be eligible for the small business premium tax credit. Even a small adjustment in your tax bill could end up saving you quite a lot, making it easier to afford the cost of a group health plan.
What Group Health Insurance Plan is Best for My Small Business?
There isn’t one right answer to that question. The best group health insurance plan for your company will depend on a variety of factors that are unique to your organization. But just because we can’t offer you a simple answer here doesn’t mean that finding the right policy is difficult. It just means that it will take a little bit of research to understand the different types of available policies and the benefits and potential drawbacks of each one.
The first step is understanding your business and the health insurance needs of your employees. When helping you select a group health plan, our insurance experts may want information about:
- The size of your organization: how many employees you have
- The type of employees you hire: for instance, do you mainly hire older employees with families or young, single employees
- The type of work your employees do: manual labor or desk work, for instance
These and other variables can make a difference in the type of insurance plan you select for your employees.
Most employers select one of the four major types of group health insurance plans available today:
- Point-of-Service Plans (POS): A very popular option with many small businesses, POS plans have a large approved network of providers. Covered individuals usually require a primary care provider but can also see anyone within the network without a referral. Referrals from a primary care provider are usually required for an out-of-network provider, which might also have higher out-of-pocket costs.
- Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs): Under a PPO, covered individuals may select a provider who may or may not be part of an approved network, and usually does not require a primary care physician. However, this option may be more expensive and may involve more out-of-pocket costs for the employee.
- Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs): The original group health insurance standard, an HMO involves an approved network of health care providers. Referrals from a primary care physician are required, and care provided by an out-of-network provider is usually not covered.
- Exclusive Provider Organization (EPOs): Within an EPO, you do not require a referral from a primary care physician but there is very little flexibility in terms of getting care from a specialist who is not within the specified EPO network.
Contact Sungate Insurance Agency and speak with one of our insurance experts to understand the benefits of offering a group health insurance plan and to decide which type of plan is best for you!
Contact SunGate Insurance Agency today learn more about the type of insurance you need. Click here to contact us or call (407) 878-7979.
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