Relying on whose knowledge you take a look at, america is residence to hundreds of thousands of small companies. In truth, in response to the Small Enterprise Administration, there are at the moment 32,540,953 million small companies within the nation and small enterprise medical health insurance is a significant concern for them.
And there are over 4 million small companies within the state of California alone.
After all, these numbers might range relying on the standards used to outline a “small enterprise”, such because the variety of workers, annual income, or trade classification.
For instance, underneath the Reasonably priced Care Act (ACA), small companies are outlined as these with 50 or fewer full-time equal (FTE) workers. And a full-time equal worker is an worker who works a median of 30 hours per week or extra.
With so many small companies within the nation, it’s virtually sure that some house owners will not be utterly acquainted with the basics of small enterprise medical health insurance.
SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE: A 33,000 FOOT VIEW
At the start, it is necessary for any small enterprise proprietor to know that companies with fewer than 50 full-time equal (FTE) workers will not be required to supply health insurance to their workers underneath the ACA.
However, they’re definitely in a position to and may derive a number of advantages by doing so. For instance, the ACA affords well being care tax credits to small companies that do select to supply medical health insurance plans to their full-time workers.
Small companies could also be eligible for a tax credit score of as much as 50 p.c of the price of the medical health insurance premiums they pay for his or her workers. Nevertheless, there are stipulations. To qualify for the tax credit score, all the following standards should be met:
You could have fewer than 25 full-time equal (FTE) workers
Your common worker wage is about $56,000 per 12 months or much less
You pay no less than 50 p.c of your full-time workers’ premium prices
You supply SHOP protection to all your full-time workers. (Notice: protection does not need to be supplied to dependents or workers working fewer than 30 hours per week to qualify for the tax credit score.)
So, chances are you’ll be questioning at this level what “SHOP” is. The ACA established Small Enterprise Well being Choices Packages – individually generally known as SHOP – to assist small businesses purchase health insurance for his or her workers.
SHOPs are primarily on-line well being care marketplaces the place small companies can examine and buy medical health insurance plans from totally different insurance coverage firms.
The main good thing about going by a SHOP is that it may be simpler for you as a small enterprise proprietor to supply medical health insurance to your workers and qualify for well being care tax credit. And, by offering entry to medical health insurance, you possibly can assist your workers keep wholesome and productive, which may profit each your workers and what you are promoting.
UNDERSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE TERMS
Merely put, small enterprise medical health insurance is a kind of medical health insurance that gives protection for small companies and their workers. It might additionally embrace medical, dental, and imaginative and prescient protection for house owners and workers.
Small enterprise medical health insurance premiums are the quantity you and your employees pay on a month-to-month foundation to buy protection for medical, dental, and imaginative and prescient plans, though some plans make use of quarterly or annual foundation .
Deductibles are the quantity you pay earlier than your insurance coverage begins overlaying prices. These are sometimes factored as out-of-pocket maximums that are essentially the most you’ll pay throughout a coverage interval (often one 12 months) earlier than the medical health insurance begins overlaying 100% of the price of well being care.
Co-pays are mounted quantities you pay for lined companies on the time of care.
Co-insurance is the proportion of prices you pay after you’ve met your deductible.
Lifetime limits are the utmost quantity your insurance coverage can pay for lined companies throughout your lifetime.
Drug formulary is an inventory of prescribed drugs lined by your plan.
TYPES OF SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE
When purchasing for small enterprise medical health insurance, there are 4 primary components you have to be conscious of regarding small enterprise medical health insurance:
Protection
Variety of workers
Worker premiums
Purchasing for protection
Small enterprise medical health insurance plans are designed particularly for small companies.
There are a number of sorts of small enterprise medical health insurance plans obtainable out there. The commonest varieties embrace small group medical health insurance plans, well being financial savings accounts (HSAs), and well being reimbursement preparations (HRAs).
Small group medical health insurance plans are the commonest sort of small enterprise medical health insurance.
These plans are designed to cowl a bunch of individuals, resembling workers of a small enterprise, and their dependents. These insurance policy are usually extra inexpensive than particular person medical health insurance plans as a result of the danger is unfold throughout a bigger group of individuals. Small group health insurance additionally affords a wider vary of advantages, together with preventative care, emergency companies, prescription drug protection, and psychological well being companies.
Well being financial savings accounts (HSAs) are a kind of financial savings account that can be utilized to pay for medical bills. HSAs are paired with high-deductible well being plans (HDHPs), that are medical health insurance plans with excessive deductibles however supply decrease premiums. HSAs permit workers to save cash on a tax-free foundation to pay for medical bills.
Well being reimbursement preparations (HRAs) are much like HSAs in that they’re used to pay for medical bills. Nevertheless, HRAs are funded fully by the employer and can be utilized to reimburse workers for certified medical bills.
FACTORS IN CHOOSING SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE
When deciding on a small enterprise medical health insurance plan, there are a number of elements to think about. These embrace the price of the plan, the advantages supplied, the community of healthcare suppliers, and the extent of customer support supplied by the insurance coverage firm.
The price of small enterprise medical health insurance plans will range primarily based on a number of issues, together with the dimensions of what you are promoting, its location, and the age and well being of your workers. You will need to examine the prices of various plans to seek out one that matches your price range. Bear in mind, too, that prices contain greater than the month-to-month premium.
The advantages supplied by a selected small enterprise medical health insurance plan can even range so you will need to think about the particular healthcare wants of your workers when deciding on a plan. For instance, if a number of of your workers have persistent circumstances, contemplating a plan with complete protection for prescribed drugs and specialist care could also be extra acceptable.
Additionally, the geographic protection of a well being plan’s healthcare supplier community is a vital issue to think about. Some plans might restrict the variety of healthcare suppliers which might be lined, whereas others supply a wider community of suppliers.
Usually ignored, the extent of customer support supplied by the insurance coverage firm is vital to think about. Small enterprise house owners ought to look for an organization that gives responsive and high quality customer support to assist workers navigate the healthcare system. Customer support is essential for enterprise house owners and their HR employees, as effectively.
J.C. LEWIS INSURANCE SERVICES – YOUR SMALL BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE EXPERTS
One other “primary” reality of medical health insurance is that you would be able to scale back prices and get monetary savings by working with an skilled dealer. And dealing with J.C. Lewis means we’re working for you, not the insurance coverage firms. Meaning we’re in a position to examine the protection of varied insurers in order to seek out you one of the best charges and protection out there.
In different phrases, we will offer you unbiased, cost-effective, and best-fit well being protection coverage suggestions.
J.C. Lewis Insurance, a family-owned agency that has been primarily based in Sonoma County since 1979, is made up of skilled brokers who supply small enterprise insurance policy. For the final 4 a long time our mission has been to supply skilled recommendation and help to small enterprise house owners for group medical health insurance and group medical plans.
As well as, our agency solely gives small enterprise medical health insurance plans from the main medical health insurance carriers licensed to do enterprise within the states the place we function.
We’re licensed and licensed by every insurance coverage provider to supply protection to small-group employers along with Medicare supplemental and prescription drug plans for seniors.
So, if you’re considering of purchasing health insurance for your self and your workers – and probably imaginative and prescient and dental protection – you’ll seemingly have a number of questions and concerns.
We’re pleased to reply all of your questions on medical health insurance protectionat J.C. Lewis Insurance coverage Companies, and you may be assured that we’ll enable you to discover the appropriate resolution.
