Group Health insurance and You
Healthcare.gov defines “Group Health Insurance” as a health plan offered by an employer or employee organization that provides health coverage to employees and their families.
Some associations may also offer group health insurance to all its members as a part of the members benefits.
Group health members may (usually) receive insurance at a lower cost than individual insurance plans because the insurer’s risk is spread across the group of policyholders.
How does Group Health Insurance Work
Businesses with 1 or more employees may be eligible to purchase group health insurance. Not all businesses may offer this as a benefit in their compensation package.
Each employer is different and each employers benefits package may be different. Some times the employer pays for the monthly premiums either fully or partially and other times the employer will pass on the responsibility of premiums payment to the employees.
Employees, if they are paying the premiums will pay from their pre tax dollars there by helping them pay less in annual taxes. Do check with your accountant about this tax savings.
Employers may end up paying lower payroll taxes and may be able to deduct their annual contributions, come tax time.
Good To Know...
Providing health insurance as a benefit to the employees is another way to attract and retail excellent employees. While this is a benefit, there are several state and federal statues that will not let you discriminate among employees. When in doubt, it’s always a good idea to check with a local professional to make sure you are in full compliance.
The Affordable Care Act presently requires small business to offer health insurance if they have 50 or more full time employees/workers.