Health insurance is one of the top requirements for any small business. Today, there is no one-size-fits-all option for health insurance. However, there are numerous types of health insurance options available in the market, which differ in terms, premium, coverage, etc. Thus, you need to choose the right place based on your requirements and budget. Here are some of the different types of group health insurance types, which are available for small businesses.
Fully insured plan
This is the traditional type of health insurance NY small business available in the market. Under this option, the insurance company would take all the healthcare risks and costs of the employees. The company would charge an annual premium, which would be partially paid by the employer and remaining by employee (in some cases, entirely by employer). The premium of such plans is usually higher, and it also depends on the level of coverage, supplement benefits, average age-group of your workforce, size of your company, claims history, and so on.
Self-funded plan
This is the new type of health insurance NY small business plan, which is aimed at providing a smaller premium and impose a lesser burden on the employer. The total healthcare risk is not burdened by the insurance company alone. The employer takes the risk of any catastrophic medical claims.
This insurance plan is usually chosen by large employers, in the past. Nowadays, the small business owners also choose this option with a partially self-funded plan along with a stop-loss option. Under this option, in case of any catastrophic claim, you would certain benefits of self-funded plans and also reduces the overall risk imposed on the employer.
Level funded plan
This type of health insurance NY small business is quite different when compared to the other traditional plans. Usually, the traditional health insurance plan holds an annual premium, which would be either paid by the employer or both employee and employer. This premium level is usually pre-determined for a certain list of criteria like the age group of the workforce, type of work, employer’s claim history, etc.. With level-funded plans, you will have a specific premium calculated for your workforce. This rate depends on the stop-loss coverage, claim allowances, overall fee, etc.. After the first year of health insurance NY small business-coverage, the insurance company would analyze your claims and adjust the premium.
Health maintenance organization
In this case, instead of worrying about the health insurance NY small business options in the market, the companies would invest in HMO. In such cases, the companies would pay a monthly premium to the HMO and they would provide access to a network of healthcare options and provide services, which would be covered by their insurance. For instance, if the HMO has access to 50 doctors of New York in their network, your members can have insurance coverage only when they meet with any one of those doctors. Consulting a doctor outside the network would ultimately lead to paying from their wallet.
While choosing HMO, remember to learn about their network. It should hold plenty of services and many options for each service. For instance, the network should have all major specialists in the medical field like cardiologists, pediatricians, dermatologists, radiologists, hematologists, and others. Each genre should have two more doctors. So that the employees will have an option if they are not satisfied with one of the doctors. All the service providers should be inside New York, for ease of travel. You cannot have a company whose network is filled with doctors from another continent. Choosing an HMO is as critical as choosing health insurance NY small business option.
Preferred Provider Organization
This is quite similar to the Health Maintenance Organization but, it is a little flexible than the former. With the Preferred Provider Organization, your employees will be given a network of doctors to choose from. Seeing any doctor inside the network would be covered by the insurance. If your employees choose to see doctors outside the network, they would not be entirely cut off. Consulting doctors outside the network would incur a small additional fee and co-pay. Thus, they will be spending less money while seeing doctors outside the network, than the HMO option.
A high deductible health plan with a savings option
This HDHP has a higher deductible and lowers premiums. In this health insurance NY small business option, the members have to pay for the medical expense from their pockets and then, the plan would pay the member its share of the money.
This helps to keep the premium lower. The saving option added to this plan allows the employee to get cashback for any unclaimed month. For instance, if a member has not claimed any medical expense, the untaxed money would be credited to the employee’s insurance bank account. This amount can be used for major medical services and health reimbursements.
Are you finding it difficult to find the perfect group health insurance option for your business, within your budget? It could be overwhelming, and thus, it is best to outsource your insurance administration to any third party companies. These service providers would choose the right plan based on your budget and requirements.
You would be paying the third party company, and it would take care of premiums, claims, queries, upgrades, regulation changes done by the government. This reduces errors and increases the employer’s focus on business. The main factor here is to choose the right service provider. You need to choose a reliable, high-experienced service provider who has experience in handling small businesses of your genre.
