Small Groups Have 5 Main Options for Health Insurance Options in 2014
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) December 01, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the number one online small business health benefits solution, published new information on small business health insurance.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, for many employers and brokers, the Affordable Care Act can feel like a moving target. However, for small groups with less than 50 employees who are not mandated to provide health insurance in 2015, the options for small group health insurance are a little more clear. Looking into 2014, small groups have five main options for health insurance:
1) Individual Health Insurance
The first option is a relatively simple approach, yet it achieves results: direct employees to the individual health insurance Marketplace in the state where they reside to purchase individual health insurance. Eligible employees can access discounts on their premiums via the individual health insurance tax credits.
If the small group would like to contribute to employee's premium expenses, they can use defined contribution allowances to reimburse employees for the unsubsidized portion of their premium. For many small groups, this is the most cost-effective solution because the small group can contribute any amount and individual health insurance costs, on average, less than small group plans.
2) SHOP Marketplace
The SHOP Marketplaces are new state- or federally-run exchanges for small businesses. Small group health plans are available on the Marketplaces and could be a good coverage option for employers with 50 or fewer employees if they can meet certain requirements.
3) Private Health Exchange
Like defined contribution, the term "private exchange" is one of the biggest buzzwords of the year. With a private exchange the small group gives employees a set contribution to use towards a menu of plan options. The plan options can be individual- or group-based. Private exchanges are a type of a defined contribution strategy.
4) Co-Op
According to Zane Benefits’ website joining a co-op for health insurance is a more traditional approach for small groups. The idea is the co-op increases buying power and spreads the risk to a larger group. Each co-op is structured differently, and whether the co-op offers better insurance rates than the small group could get on the open market or SHOP depends on regional insurance underwriting laws and the co-op itself.
5) Private Small Group Plan
Purchasing a private small group plan is also still an option for small groups. Small groups may find more options and carriers to choose from on the private market as compared to the SHOP, where some states only have one or two plans to choose from.
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 23 hours ago.
Park City, Utah (PRWEB) December 01, 2013
Today, Zane Benefits, the number one online small business health benefits solution, published new information on small business health insurance.
According to Zane Benefits’ website, for many employers and brokers, the Affordable Care Act can feel like a moving target. However, for small groups with less than 50 employees who are not mandated to provide health insurance in 2015, the options for small group health insurance are a little more clear. Looking into 2014, small groups have five main options for health insurance:
1) Individual Health Insurance
The first option is a relatively simple approach, yet it achieves results: direct employees to the individual health insurance Marketplace in the state where they reside to purchase individual health insurance. Eligible employees can access discounts on their premiums via the individual health insurance tax credits.
If the small group would like to contribute to employee's premium expenses, they can use defined contribution allowances to reimburse employees for the unsubsidized portion of their premium. For many small groups, this is the most cost-effective solution because the small group can contribute any amount and individual health insurance costs, on average, less than small group plans.
2) SHOP Marketplace
The SHOP Marketplaces are new state- or federally-run exchanges for small businesses. Small group health plans are available on the Marketplaces and could be a good coverage option for employers with 50 or fewer employees if they can meet certain requirements.
3) Private Health Exchange
Like defined contribution, the term "private exchange" is one of the biggest buzzwords of the year. With a private exchange the small group gives employees a set contribution to use towards a menu of plan options. The plan options can be individual- or group-based. Private exchanges are a type of a defined contribution strategy.
4) Co-Op
According to Zane Benefits’ website joining a co-op for health insurance is a more traditional approach for small groups. The idea is the co-op increases buying power and spreads the risk to a larger group. Each co-op is structured differently, and whether the co-op offers better insurance rates than the small group could get on the open market or SHOP depends on regional insurance underwriting laws and the co-op itself.
5) Private Small Group Plan
Purchasing a private small group plan is also still an option for small groups. Small groups may find more options and carriers to choose from on the private market as compared to the SHOP, where some states only have one or two plans to choose from.
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 23 hours ago.