What is a Group Health Insurance plan?
Group health insurance is often employer-sponsored health coverage. These plans benefit business owners, employees and typically their dependents. Most of America is beneficiaries of group medical insurance through their own or by a family member’s employer-sponsored group health plan. Employers and employees share the costs of group health insurance.

An employer selects a group health insurance plan and invites the employees to enroll. Generally, the employer covers at least 50% of each employee’s monthly premium. Some employers also contribute to dependent premiums. The individual employee pays for the rest of the cost.

Types of group health insurance plans
Group health insurance plans are categorized into two major classes. One type is indemnity plans (known as “traditional indemnity,” “fee-for-service,” or “FFS” plans) and the other managed care plans. These two types of plans differ in their basic approach. The major differences are on choice of providers, quantum of out-of-pocket costs for the services offered, and method of paying the bills. Indemnity plans offer you a wider choice of doctors (including specialists and surgeons), hospitals, and other health care providers. A managed care plan involves less out-of-pocket costs and lower level of paperwork.

Indemnity plans were very popular all over the US once but are not as popular today. They are still common on the east coast. Managed care plans now dominate the general health insurance market. They are more dominant in the western parts of the country. The managed care plans are primarily of three types: PPOs, HMOs, and POS plans.

Advantages
If you want to provide health insurance benefits to your employees, group health insurance is the right way to do it. It benefits the owner of the company as well as the employees. Offering a group health insurance plan can help you hire and retain the best workers. The premium you pay is normally tax-deductible. Since continued non-break medical insurance is necessary for all, group coverage also protects workers or they family members.

What are “benefit riders?”
Benefit riders are add-on insurance policies that are not typically covered by the standard health insurance plan. These are additional health-related services like Dental services which is typically not covered under a health insurance plan. Usually, benefit riders are available only when you buy a group health insurance plan.

ZIP codes and health insurance rates
Cost of medical care varies from state to state and area to area. Hence health insurance rates also vary. This cost variation is due to the general cost level of the area, differences in regulations regarding medical practices, the level of specialization of services and the level of competition in an area. Most small group health insurance plans vary their rates depending on the ZIP code. The employer’s business address normally determines the ZIP Code to apply.

How to determine if a company qualifies for group health insurance
A company becomes eligible for a small business health insurance plan if it meets the following criteria:

1. The company has two or more full-time owners, partners, officers, and/or employees. This must be verifiable by officially-filed state quarterly wage and tax statements or by the annual federal tax return documents;
2. The company must be a legitimate business entity. This is to be verifiable one of the following: A business license; Articles of incorporation; or Articles of organization.
3. The company must meet the minimum employer contribution percentage expected by the insurance company.

Benefits of group health insurance
Surveys have demonstrated that workers consider health insurance coverage very important, second only to monetary compensation. Offering group health insurance benefits becomes a basic necessity for an employer and this will make it easier to hire and retain the best workers. Even the business owner can insure the owner and family through a group insurance provided by the company.

Additionally, group health insurance plan provides various tax incentives to the employer and employees. Businesses can deduct 100% of the premiums for group health plans. By offering group health insurance as part of a total compensation package, there will be reduction in payroll taxes. The employees can deduct their contribution to the insurance premium as expenses.

Affordable group health insurance
It is not always necessary to be employed to get the benefits of group health insurance. This is an overlooked source of low cost group health insurance. You may be a member of specific organizations offering health insurance coverage. Although these organizations do not pay the health insurance premiums like an employer does, the cost of insurance would be lower than individual insurance because of the group discount. So, it is worthwhile figuring out the organizations you are a member of to consider any group health insurance they may offer. You can also do research and find out organizations that provide group health insurance and become member of such groups. You could also ask current organizations in which you are already a member to organize and obtain group health insurance quote and offer the group insurance plan to its members.

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