Health Insurance Benefits for Employers

Should I offer my employees Group Health Insurance?

Every year business owners like you must contemplate what is the best approach to take for your business (and your employees) as it relates to offering Health Insurance and what is in the best interest of all – while also being a win-win to your bottom line.

Offering a Company Provided Group Health Insurance Plan to your employees? Considering it? Not offering Group Health and letting your employees “go it on their own”? If you are an employer with less than 50 Full Time Equivalent Employees it may be time to reconsider if ANY of these options are in your best interest. The Affordable Care Act has substantially refreshed the Individual Health Insurance Market.

Here are a few key updates:

  • The American Rescue Plan increased subsidy (premium) assistance for all Health Insurance Marketplace Participants. Over 75% of individuals that participate in the program now are eligible for a $0 Premium Plan!
  • The Income “Cap” to qualify for Federal Subsidies is now eliminated and the amount that anyone pays in premiums will be limited to 9.5% of their household income. In laymen’s terms this essentially means that those who made “too much” money to qualify for subsidies in the past now qualify for substantial ones.
  • The requirement for small employers (under 50 fte’s) to offer group health insurance is fully suspended, and legislation is in the works to eliminate the requirement for employers between 50 and 100 ee’s.
  • For 2025 (this fall’s open enrollment) there will be no less than EIGHT carriers participating nationwide. In most states/counties that will translate to somewhere between 50 and 75 insurance plan choices!

Why does this matter? There may be a smarter way to handle your benefits offering:

  • Consider that the demographic of your employees (age, income, household size) in your industry makes them excellent candidates to qualify for very good Individual Health Insurance through the Marketplace at MINIMAL TO NO PREMIUM COST.
  • Consider that many of your employees are opting out of your Group Health Plan (if you offer it) because of the premium costs (even if you just have them pay one half, or a third), it is still way more expensive than what they can obtain on their own through the Marketplace.
  • Consider that if you offer a Group Health Plan you are only able to offer one or two plan option with one carrier. Meanwhile your employees could have the freedom of choosing between 50-75 plans offered by up to 8 carriers. What a difference!
  • Consider that if your employees are “doing it on their own” many are missing the opportunity to own health insurance because of lack of knowledge/help, which could be a liability to you later! Loan requests for medical bills, extended sick leave, and exaggerated workmen’s comp claims are just a few examples of the fallout to the employer.
  • Consider that there are still creative ways to compensate or reimburse your employees for their Individual Health Insurance premium costs – if they have a premium – if you feel like you’d like to…

So what’s the alternative?

Since the Affordable Care Act’s inception, we have been assisting small employers like you (and your most important asset – your employees) with turn-key access and assistance with the Health Insurance Marketplace and the Insurance Plans offered there. Many companies like yours have used us to communicate to and enroll their employees in their Individual Health Insurance Plans at each Open Enrollment. Our FREE Assistance is YEAR ROUND. We become a fixture of support for each of your employees for all customer service needs and serve as a liaison between them, the Health Insurance Marketplace, and the Insurance Carrier.

And not only do we communicate and assist with the Health Insurance Enrollment, we help YOU with the messaging to your employees. We help them to understand all the positive reasons that you use the Health Insurance Marketplace rather than doing a group plan. We help them to see the BENEFIT of you offering them a professional point of contact to help them year round. We take care of your employees seamlessly for you (and usually remotely) with no disruption to your business.

And again, this service is completely FREE to you and FREE to your employees.   Why have your employees navigate this on their own where mistakes are made, wrong plans are chosen, or better yet they get frustrated and quit?

The bottom line is: Group Health Insurance is always an option. We do it and are HAPPY to help you put it in place for your company. BUT… If you are a small business owner you very well may find that the Individual coverage route – coupled with our free, expert assistance – is a much easier option.

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