What is employer-sponsored health insurance?
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) November 20, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the number one online small business health benefits solution, published new information on employer sponsored health insurance.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, employer-sponsored health insurance refers to any health insurance paid for by an employer on behalf of its employees. Employer-sponsored health insurance is commonly referred to as "employee health benefits,""job-based health insurance," or "group health insurance."
Employer-sponsored health insurance goes back to the early 1940's. During WWII workers demanded wage increases that were prohibited by wartime wage and price controls. To grant a concession to labor without violating wage and price controls, Congress exempted employer-sponsored health insurance from wage controls and income taxation—in effect allowing "off-the-books" raises for employees in the form of non-taxable health benefits.
This created an enormous tax advantage for employer-sponsored health benefits over health insurance purchased by employees with after-tax dollars (e.g., like auto insurance). Prior to 2014 the only way for some employees to have access to quality, guaranteed issue health insurance was through work. Much of this is changing with health reform's changes to individual health insurance and the growth of defined contribution solutions.
Of the small employers not offering health insurance, the majority (61%) say cost is the primary reason.
Employer-sponsored group health insurance is broken because it costs too much for most small businesses and employees, employees don’t get a choice, and employees lose their health insurance when they switch jobs. As a result, most employees pay too much for health insurance, have no idea what the plan actually covers, and don’t take the time to learn how health insurance works.
It's not surprising then that 85% of Americans don’t understand how co-pays, deductibles, co-insurance, networks, and out-of-pocket maximums work. Arguably, it's this disconnection between the consumer and the product that contributes to the unsustainable cost and nature of employer-sponsored health insurance.
Click here to read the full article.
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About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHealth") for defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about Zane Benefits, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 days ago.
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) November 20, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the number one online small business health benefits solution, published new information on employer sponsored health insurance.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, employer-sponsored health insurance refers to any health insurance paid for by an employer on behalf of its employees. Employer-sponsored health insurance is commonly referred to as "employee health benefits,""job-based health insurance," or "group health insurance."
Employer-sponsored health insurance goes back to the early 1940's. During WWII workers demanded wage increases that were prohibited by wartime wage and price controls. To grant a concession to labor without violating wage and price controls, Congress exempted employer-sponsored health insurance from wage controls and income taxation—in effect allowing "off-the-books" raises for employees in the form of non-taxable health benefits.
This created an enormous tax advantage for employer-sponsored health benefits over health insurance purchased by employees with after-tax dollars (e.g., like auto insurance). Prior to 2014 the only way for some employees to have access to quality, guaranteed issue health insurance was through work. Much of this is changing with health reform's changes to individual health insurance and the growth of defined contribution solutions.
Of the small employers not offering health insurance, the majority (61%) say cost is the primary reason.
Employer-sponsored group health insurance is broken because it costs too much for most small businesses and employees, employees don’t get a choice, and employees lose their health insurance when they switch jobs. As a result, most employees pay too much for health insurance, have no idea what the plan actually covers, and don’t take the time to learn how health insurance works.
It's not surprising then that 85% of Americans don’t understand how co-pays, deductibles, co-insurance, networks, and out-of-pocket maximums work. Arguably, it's this disconnection between the consumer and the product that contributes to the unsustainable cost and nature of employer-sponsored health insurance.
Click here to read the full article.
--
About Zane Benefits
Zane Benefits was founded in 2006 to provide a revolutionized SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) administration platform ("ZaneHealth") for defined contribution health care. The flagship software provides a 100% paperless administration experience to small businesses and insurance professionals that want to offer better health benefits without a traditional group health insurance plan at lower costs. For more information about Zane Benefits, visit http://www.zanebenefits.com. Reported by PRWeb 2 days ago.