In today’s time, you never know when you will be suffering from a health ailment that requires care. Once you get diagnosed with an ailment, there are rounds of visiting hospitals and never-ending bills. All this could make it tough for your employees to cope with medical expense issues.
That’s why you, as a business owner, must always secure your employee’s health with health insurance. Infact, it’s an added advantage if you provide them with small business health insurance.
But, before you go for it, make sure you are aware of certain things beforehand. Here’s a guide to help you out:
Elements of Small Business Health Insurance
The US healthcare insurance market size was estimated at 2.4 trillion in 2019, and its CAGR is expected to grow 6.7% from 2020 to 2027. This means people are considering health insurance, and it has become an important aspect of the common population.
In such cases, you, as a small business owner, must not back off from providing benefits to the employees. It’s like one of the crucial stages of small business growth. However, before you do so, small business health insurance has four main elements. This includes:
Coverage
As soon as you are eligible for the insurance plan, your coverage will be given by the insurance company. No matter what, you wouldn’t be denied insurance even if you have multiple health conditions/ailments.
Number of Employees
As a company owner, you must have at least one employee under payroll. In some cases, you yourself may be considered as the employee (and the business owner). However, it’s only applicable in certain states.
Employee Premiums
An employee premium of at least 50% must be paid to your employees. However, the minimum percentage is variable as per state/company.
Shopping Coverage
While you can shop for insurance coverage anytime, you will be locked in for a year, once you buy it. During this time, you can just add in new employees or remove the coverage for old employees. Once the year ends, you can renew your plan or shop for new coverage.
Things to Consider While Buying Health Insurance
Now that you know about the elements, let’s check out the five things that you must consider before buying health insurance and make your small business rise:
Health Insurance Company
Health insurance companies are an important factor to consider when buying health insurance, as the speed of claim processing depends on the same. You must do your research and choose a company that is top-notch in all aspects. As they are available online too, use the internet and look for coverage information and services thoroughly.
Treatments and Diseases Coverage
Insurance companies often list the diseases and treatments for which the insurance plan applies only after a specific duration. For example, for some health conditions like piles or fistula, you may get coverage only after two years of the policy. So, it’s best to confirm such things and then move forward with the plan.
Day Care Procedures
There are many medical procedures that just take 24 hours (or less) to complete due to medical advancements and technology. So, you must also verify whether such procedures are involved in the plan or not.
Add-ons and Hospital Networks
Add-ons make health insurance even better. So, while shopping for health insurance, make sure you have add-ons for customization. You must also check if the insurer has hospital networks across your location.
That’s it. Hopefully, now you know all the necessary aspects of small business health insurance.
