As a businessman or would-be-entrepreneur, you face great challenges and take significant financial risks. Your health and medical care, however, is one department where you wouldn’t want to gamble. As a responsible manager, you should scope out the health insurance options available for small business owners like you.
Recently, managed care providers have been accommodating “Groups of One,” meaning you can buy a policy for yourself with premiums comparable to group insurance rates. The greatest plus of group health insurance policies is “guaranteed issue,” meaning they can’t exclude a person due to health problems.
You can also check if there are trade associations or chambers of commerce in your area that may offer membership coupled with health insurance.
If you wish to, get a plan to include your employees. Being an attractive benefit for prospective employees, a group health insurance plan can get you the best workers. In addition there are special tax deductions for businesses that offer health insurance.
To purchase the insurance plan that suits you best, you need to familiarize yourself with the basic types of managed care providers in the market:
Health Maintenance Organizations
Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) give you a range of health services for a set monthly fee. You pick your choice of a primary care physician from their list of affiliated doctors. With HMOs, you will not receive coverage if you go beyond their network, except for emergency cases. Most of the time, you become eligible for insurance benefits without a minimum payment (deductible), but you may be required a small copay per office visit and a steady monthly premium.
Preferred Provider Organization
The Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) is another type of care provider that extends health care through an approved group of providers, or through other providers outside the network. Usually, you have to pay a small copay and satisfy a deductible before benefits are paid. It’s less expensive to visit one of the providers in the network. You may seek out-of-network health care services, but your share of the bill will be higher.
Point of Service Plans
Similar to HMOs, your primary physician attends to you and refers to other in-network doctors in Point of Service (POS) plans. You may choose to see an out-of-network doctor and the plan will pay a predetermined amount of the bill; you will shoulder the bigger amount. These plans usually cost more, but your choice of attending physician is not restricted.
Health Savings Accounts
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are not part of managed care. It is a relatively new way to pay for health services. Savings accounts have tax incentives and can be accessed whenever the need for health care funding arises. Any surplus in the account earns tax-free interest.
Bottom-line, your own business is your source of income. You are its most valuable player and asset. Take care of your health and ensure your business’ smooth sail. Study your health insurance options and make the right choice.
By: Charles Crawley
Posts Tagged ‘Chambers Of Commerce’
Health Insurance for the Small Business Owner
January 5th, 2010
More and more, we see people leaving the comfort of a big organization to branch out on their own. Whether they are tired of being micromanaged or are just interested in doing something different, people are making this move in record numbers.
Becoming a business owner comes with many considerations. While small business owners face a number of obstacles, securing health insurance is probably one of the most common. Surveys report that 23% of small business owners state that the rising cost of insurance stifles success. Today, it is estimated that only about 49% of all small companies offer insurance compared to 98% of the larger corporations.
The reality for most small business owners is that the cost of insuring themselves, in addition to staff, would have a dramatic impact on the business. For some people, health insurance is provided by a spouse, but as people get to retirement age, these benefits often go away. Young people may get coverage through their parents, struggle to get and keep an individual policy, or simply go without.
Some Chambers of Commerce in towns and cities across the nation provide options. In this case, if you were a member of the Chamber, you might have some choices for health coverage, but keep in mind that many times these insurance plans are expensive. However, if there were no other resources, it would be a consideration.
While there is no perfect solution to addressing health insurance coverage in your business, the news isn’t all bad. There are a number of reputable and qualified companies dedicated to helping small business owners establish health and other types of insurance. Here are a few recommendations for your consideration:
Standard (http://www.standard.com) This company has been working with small businesses for years, establishing the right employee benefits. In addition to group insurance, they also have plans for group life, group long term and short-term disability, and even group dental.
Bank of America (http://www.bankofamerica.com/insurance) B of A has options pertaining to small business insurance benefits, matching needs and budget to the perfect plan.
NASRO (http://www.nasro-co-op.com) This acronym stands for National Association of Socially Responsible Organizations, which is geared toward helping employers, professional associations, and cooperatives find affordable health insurance in states to include California, Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, Washington DC, and Virginia.
America Medical Security (http://www.eams.com) This organization offers competitive medical, dental, and term life coverage through various independent agents. The plans are flexible to meet the needs of any size company, even small ones.
eHealth Insurance (http://www.eams.com) This site allows you to shop for several types of health insurance across a number of providers, all from the comfort of your keyboard.
Health insurance coverage is a big part of putting a business together, whether you intend to only cover yourself or will be offering it as a benefit to employees. Take the time to thoroughly research your options, and include your tax and legal advisors in the process. It is better to understand all the facets and come up with a solution that will remain viable as your company grows.
By: Andrew Brown
