What best practices do you suggest for offering Health Insurance to employees?

My initial plan is to offer medical/dental/vision (perhaps) via payroll deduction, being fully paid by the employee. Are any of you doing this? Mind sharing your experiences and good companions you recommend? Small company (<50 employees).

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Answers (1-10)

Work with an expert.  Many use their Property Casualty agent for it and they are not always the best at it.  Laws change a lot and every carrier has a different requirement for funding.  Many who get subsidies do not want to be offered group coverage or they can't get the tax credit, so survey the group first.  If they are higher income, they may be thrilled to have this option.  There is start up and ongoing admin, so if you aren't prepared to pay something towards it, you may not want to jump into the middle of it yet.  Our agency handles most everything for the employers, so find an agent that will process all the changes for you so you don't have to be the expert on how to manage the group.  

We know with the current health care that really is a sick care system! I feel we need to take responsibility for our own health by eating healthy, enough sleep, exercise, drinking water , taking a nutritional supplement if you can't eat 9-13 servings a day of fruits and vegetables! I would be happy to meet with your employees to do a overview! 

As the employer you will need to get some skin in the game to offer a group portfolio of medical, dental and vision.

There are no group Insurers who will do a zero employer contribution, the standard rule of thumb is 50%.

Whatever cost the employee has then let them pre-tax their cot and save themselves and the company tax monies.

You are not obligated to offer to spouses, so you can have employee and children plans.

If the group is sick you would want to look at guaranteed issue plans thru the exchange and if not level self funded would be the key.

Also, anytime the employer does not contribute for the dental and vision the rates are higher so again pay something to get the better plan and rates.

Contact Mark E. Snapp @ xxx-xxx-xxxx for assistance

or the web: www.snappbenefits.com

Take an overall survey on your employees and see if they currently have medical coverage benefits and what their needs are regarding coverage and what they could pay per month. Include any spouses or dependents who may be added to the employee.  Adding dependents can be expensive for employees and employers.  This survey will provide you a list of employees who will likely decline employer coverage, those who WILL need coverage, and an overview of the overall medical coverage needs of all employees. Employees with ongoing medical issues will increase the employer's costs in the long run. All this information will give you a basis on costs with the group plan with a broker.  The majority of employees will have to elect the group in order to offer it. Employer and administration costs will also need to be considered.  Or... you can allow your employees to find their own medical coverage and help subsidize their premiums and/or deductibles.  This allows the employer to stay nimble and can help lower out of pocket costs in the long run.  Group plans are not always the best fit. They can be costly, complicated, and confusing. 

Business from New Baltimore, VA
Answered on Nov 15th, 2020

Ensure that you assess: Appropriate funding mechanisms, plan coverage options, cost containment strategies, network access/disruption/steerage, risk management, effective plan utilization, communication, education and engagement (application of antecedents and consequences to drive behavior change) strategies, wellness strategies, etc. Reach out to a professional at [email address]

 I could help you to get a Group Plan or break it down individually. I would get a census of the employees that would like to get coverage, so that I could show them their best plan options. I have access to all plans, whether it be a Governmental Plan or Private Ins. Everyone has a different scenario. So, it would not be a 1 size fits all, unless it was a Group Plan. If you like, I can do a free evaluation, at your request. We do specialize in Small Business, Individuals and Families.

A lot of companies like the pretax deduction as it saves both the employer and employee money

The employees pay for their insurance and it is often portable 


I can’t speak to that as I do not insure groups nor business health insurance. I work with the Medicare Supplement insurance for seniors. 

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