Health Insurance For Business(9 Questions To Ask)

Before you begin shopping for health insurance, you should have a firm

understanding of what you and your employees are looking for from

health insurance.

Here are the questions you

want to answer:

If your employees are already getting health insurance through their spouse, then they may not value health insurance benefits.  Many group plans also require that the majority of your employees participate in the plan.  If a large number of your employees opt out because they are covered by a spouse, group health insurance may not be an option.  

Would your employees view health benefits as valuable?1)

According to kff.org’s most recent data (2013) the average cost per enrolled employee for group health coverage is $5884 per year.  However, most businesses share the cost of healthcare with their employees.  On average, the employer picks up 80% of the premium costs, and the employee the remaining 20%.

How much can you and your employees afford to pay each month for premiums? 2)

This is also why we recommend exploring increasing compensation and offering a cafeteria plan instead of offering a group plan.  You can learn more about this here.

How much can you and your employees afford to pay each month for premiums? 2)

Before offering a group health plan, make sure that you are not cutting off the subsidy option for employees that want it. Your employees can use the calculator below to determine whether or not they are eligible for subsidies.

How many of my employees qualify for a subsidy?

3)

Allowing employees to choose for themselves gives them greater flexibility and generally costs less on average than offering group health insurance.  This is why we recommend all employers consider offering increased compensation along with a cafeteria plan, instead of offering group health insurance.  You can learn more about this here.  

Do I want to offer a specific plan to my employees, or let them choose for themselves?4)

Higher pay, increased 401k contributions, life insurance, wellness program, gas stipend, and catered lunches are all examples of things that some employees may appreciate more than health benefits.

Would my employees appreciate a different benefit?5)

• To have a high deductible plan with low monthly premiums? • Or a plan with higher monthly premiums but lower

deductible?

6) Would you and your employees prefer:

Is to offer a high deductible health plan. This means that your employees pay the first x number of dollars (generally between $1000 and $2000) in health care costs directly.

One way to significantly reduce health insurance cost

According to a recent Kff.org report 49% of employees with health insurance that work for a firm with 3-99 employees had a deductable of more than $1000.

This is a popular option among small businesses.

If your employees cannot afford to pay the out of pocket costs associated with their health care, then this defeats the purpose of offering health insurance.

In scenarios where you or your employees have a large medical bill, what is the maximum amount that they can afford to pay out-of-pocket? 7)

If you have employees that need to visit the doctor on a regular basis for a chronic condition, you want to make sure that they are going to be able to afford the out of pocket costs they will be responsible for under different scenarios.

How often do you and your employees plan on going for Doctor's visits?8)

If so then you will want to make sure that the doctor/healthcare provider is covered under the health benefits you decide to offer.  If not, would you and your employees switch doctors if it meant saving money by switching to a different plan that their current Doctor/healthcare provider doesn’t accept?

Does a significant portion of your company currently have the same Doctor/health care provider? 9)

Does a significant portion of your company currently have the same Doctor/health care provider?

If so then you will want to make sure that the doctor/healthcare provider is covered under the health benefits you decide to offer.  If not, would you and your employees switch doctors if it meant saving money by switching to a different plan that their current Doctor/healthcare provider doesn’t accept?

9)

The answers to the above questions will arm you with the information you need to choose the right benefits plan for your company’s unique situation.

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