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How Much Is Your Business Required To Pay In The State Of Ohio For Employee Health Insurance?

by ClaimLinxJuly 25, 2022August 1, 20223 Comments

Building a sustainable business takes a lot of hard work. In today’s competitive labor marketplace, employers have to offer certain benefits to potential employees to join their organizations. A big incentive that most employees commonly expect is health insurance. Getting the right insurance plan may seem difficult to some

The purpose of this guide is to provide a general overview of Ohio small business health insurance. The guide reviews small business health insurance options for Ohio small businesses.

Building a successful business is hard work. Finding affordable small business health insurance doesn’t have to be. All small businesses face special challenges when it comes to finding and getting health insurance coverage. Luckily, recent health care reform legislation provides small businesses with special opportunities to secure affordable health insurance.

Ohio Core Small Business Health Insurance Options

When evaluating your small business health insurance options in Ohio, you should immediately compare the costs and benefits of the following three options:

Offering Traditional Small Business Health Insurance Coverage
Offering a Defined Contribution Health Plan that Reimburses Employees for Individual Health Insurance Coverage, and
Offering Nothing

Ohio Small Business Health Insurance Overview

There are two primary categories of health insurance for small businesses to choose from:

Individual health insurance,
Group health insurance.

Individual Health Insurance

Individual health insurance plans are health insurance plans purchased by individuals to cover themselves or their families. Anyone can apply for individual health insurance. Small business owners who can’t offer group coverage due minimum contribution (or minimum participation) requirements typically purchase individual and family plans for themselves and their families. In 2014, insurance companies will no longer be able to decline individuals for individual health insurance based on a pre-existing medical condition. Also, starting in 2014, there are new special tax incentives available to businesses and employees when employees purchase individual health insurance. In some cases, self-employed persons who purchase their own health insurance may be able to deduct the cost of their monthly premiums. When small businesses decide on the individual health insurance route, they often create a “Pure” Defined Contribution Health Plan to reimburse employees tax-free for individual premiums.

Group Health Insurance

Group health insurance plans are a form of employer-sponsored health coverage. Costs are typically shared between the employer and the employee, and coverage may also be extended to dependents. In certain states, self-employed persons without other employees may qualify for group health insurance plans.

Four Types of Ohio Small Business Health Insurance Plans

Whether you’re looking at individual health insurance or group health insurance, there are several different types of health plans available. The four you should absolutely know are:.

PPO Health Insurance Plans,
HMO Health Insurance Plans,
HSA-Qualified Health Insurance Plans, and
Indemnity Health Insurance Plans.

The plan type that is best for you and your employees depends on what you and your employees want, and how much you are willing to spend. Here’s a brief review of the four popular types of health insurance plans:

PPO Health Insurance Plans

PPO or “Preferred Provider Organization” plans are the most common. Employees covered under a PPO plan need to get their medical care from doctors or hospitals on the insurance company’s list of preferred providers in order for claims to be paid at the highest level.

HMO Health Insurance Plans

HMO stands for “Health Maintenance Organization.” HMO plans offer a wide range of health care services through a network of providers that contract exclusively with the HMO, or who agree to provide services to members. Employees participating in HMO plans will typically need to select a primary care physician (“PCP”) to provide most of their health care and refer them on to HMO specialists as needed.

HSA-Qualified Health Insurance Plans

HSA-qualified plans are typically PPO plans designed specifically for use with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). An HSA is a special bank account that allows participants to save money – pre-tax – to be used specifically for medical expenses in the future. Section 105 Healthcare Reimbursement Plans (HRPs) are often used in place of HSAs due to their advantages for employers.

Indemnity Health Insurance Plans

Indemnity plans allow members to direct their own health care and generally visit any doctor or hospital. The insurance company then pays a set portion of the total charges. Employees may be required to pay for some services up front and then apply to the insurance company for reimbursement.

Why Choosing The Right Health Insurance Partner For Your Business Is Important?

by ClaimLinxJune 6, 2022August 1, 20222 Comments

Health Insurance is one of the primary incentives for employees to join any business. Over the years, more and more employees are beginning to look for jobs with health benefits as it helps mitigate large healthcare expenses over time. But with so many types of insurance options out there, businesses can find it difficult to determine which type of business health insurance is best for them.

Finding top tier talent is difficult enough as it is, but if your business does not offer market competitive health benefits, you’re going to find it much more difficult to attract quality talent to your business. Many small business owners struggle in finding the right business health insurance partner to match their needs.

Here are some things you need to consider to find the right business health insurance partner:

1. Plan Type and Specifications:

Professional Employer Organization (PEO): Small businesses can opt for PEO’s to offer health insurance at bulk pricing, thus making it very affordable to everyone.

Fixed Plan for Contribution: The employer opts to allow employees to make the choice of plan that fits their requirements.
Fixed Plan for Benefits: This is the most common type of business health insurance where businesses provide the same type of coverage to all employees through bulk pricing.

HMO’s offer organizations affordable prices, but the options for employee healthcare can be limited. Instead, a Preferred Provider Organization comes at higher premiums but offers more benefits. There is also a third option called ‘Exclusive Provider Organization’, which is a combination of PPOs and HMOs. No referrals are necessary, and employees have to stay within a fixed network of specialists.

2. Plan Costs

Businesses nowadays are looking to mitigate costs, to increase profitability. However, since the decision of selecting a business health insurance provider involves the wellbeing of your employees too, you will have to find an affordable plan that provides the coverage you need. Consider the plan cost, what your company has to spend, deductibles and what deductions employees would have to bear. The primary goal is to provide as many benefits as possible at the lowest cost. Which is why doing market research or hiring a healthcare consultant for businesses is an excellent option.

3. Understand Coverage

Reading through the entire coverage fine print is essential when finalizing a business health insurance provider for your business. Analyze what the plan does not cover, which healthcare professionals does it give access to, and what restrictions apply. Also, reading up on reviews can help learn more about how fast the reimbursement process would be for certain scenarios.

4. Analyze Competitors

Many businesses tend to overlook this key strategy. Since the labor market is highly competitive, offering better benefits than your competition could attract talent towards your organization. Employee expectations can also be fully understood once you see what the market trends are. Adding different incentives can play a huge role in retaining and attracting talent within your business.

5 Reasons Small Business Health Insurance Is Critical For Employees

by ClaimLinxAugust 20, 2021August 31, 20214 Comments

Small business health insurance has a variety of programs. For example, personal plans, specific disease plans, etc., as appropriate, should be covered under one type of health insurance. This way, you can get financial help from the insurance company if there are any health problems.

Small business health insurance can be purchased by an employer. Here, the employer buys small business insurance from an insurance company by paying insurance premiums to ensure the health risks to employees in terms of the terms and conditions of the policy. Keep reading to find the value of small business insurance for employees.

There are many options available to businesses looking to provide medical insurance to employees, but usually, small business health insurance comes in the following form:

Health Benefits: Basic: Patient Care, Dependence, International/Regional Availability, Covered Circumstances.
Additional known benefits: maternity and birth control, vision, and dental insurance.
Extended / full benefits: Health screening and vaccination, general health support, and mental health support.

Small Business Health Insurance is health insurance bought by the owner of a small business that covers the company and its employees and provides numerous benefits.

Three characteristics make small business health insurance different from any other type of insurance

They are made functional specifically for a small group
It is available throughout the year.
The employer can contribute to the premium charged to the employee

Now we will look at these characteristics in detail.

Small Business Health Insurance designed for small scale companies:

First, small business insurance schemes are usually run by less than 50 groups. Company owners that have less than 50 full-time employees working under them are not obligated to provide their employee data under the ACA.

Most small business policies include groups of five or fewer people. If your employees were only 1099 contractors last year you may be eligible for health care for small businesses.

Purchase through the year

Second, a difference of small business health insurance is that it is available throughout the year to make purchases. With Small Business Health Insurance, you are not obliged to register during the special registration period open, as much as possible when purchasing special coverage.

Employer contribution to employee premium:

Third, for small business insurance, a business usually has to pay at least 50% of its employees’ monthly health insurance premiums. Exact percentages may vary depending on the situation or system.

It is important to remember that the money you pay in employee premiums is usually deducted from the rules of your business. Ask your auditor or tax adviser how you can save money in this way.

The main goal behind introducing small business health insurance is providing employees of the company a chance at better health facilities and assisting them in managing their health care expenditures. Other benefits, such as financial aid or educational benefits, can be beneficial, but effective medical insurance often adds to global wage benefits.

Most employees rarely ask you to pay for medical expenses out of your pocket, at least without making too much money for the savings they have. Protecting health insurance from your employees will cost less than what they bought for themselves – and, as a group, you will have more control and negotiation power to ensure that the money you spend on insurance is spent wisely.

The importance of small business health insurance for employees

The following points highlight the importance of a small business insurance scheme for employees.

1) Availability of basic insurance

Employees can benefit from basic insurance coverage such as hospitalization due to their employer. The employer usually pays the policy. Therefore, an employee can avail of the benefit of the insurance scheme free of cost.

2) Sub-conditions

Personal health insurance systems have stronger terms than group health policies. For example, the terms of the waiting period, health checkup, and maternity cover are not small compared to a group health plan.

3) Family coverage

With small business health insurance plans not only you can avail of the benefits but your family members are also secured In this way, the financial security attached to the coverage is extended to other family members. You can easily avoid a stressful situation by making the right decision at right time and secure your and your family’s future.

4) Insurance management

Once you are covered under the health insurance policy provided by your employer and after learning about the start and implementation of the plan, you can consider better coverage by opting for a single health insurance plan. For instance, a small business health policy offers all the facilities of basic health insurance ad allows you to buy a critical illness policy.

5) Peace of mind

A medical emergency can quickly lead to a financial emergency. This puts a lot of stress on the patient and family members. A health insurance policy can provide great assistance in difficult times like these.

Be informed

Covering only under the Health Team will not help you. You need to know its availability for insurance. That way, you know what’s included in the system and what’s not.

You must go through the details of the policy of small business health insurance thoroughly whether you are a company owner looking for an insurance company to buy insurance or an employee who is availing the coverage. Do not hesitate to ask the insurance company about your queries and ensure that you understand everything.

As mentioned above, small business health insurance is a quite helpful facility for employees as well employers. Where employees avail numerous benefits and are secured through this type of insurance, employers get a chance to grow their business by providing strength to the most important resource of their business. You must decide smartly and choose the right company along with the right package. Making the right decisions will help in the future and give good results. Go through policies before making any decision.

How Much Does Group Health Insurance Cost?

by ClaimLinxJune 24, 2020August 18, 20201 Comment

The decision to offer group health insurance benefits to your employees starts with questions about the overall cost. After all, you need to remain profitable, and paying for medical coverage can certainly cut into your bottom line. However, with the numerous benefits of offering health insurance and the possibility of current government regulations forcing you to do so, it makes sense to explore all your options and find out how you can provide the highest quality insurance at the lowest price possible.

When the figuring out how much does group health insurance cost, you need to gather a lot of information before coming up with a final dollar amount. In general, both the employer and the employees share costs for all doctor’s visits, prescriptions, hospital stays, and any other necessary medical care.

Employees must pay the following for health insurance benefits:

Deductible – Money paid before the insurance policy starts paying
Copayment – Payments made directly to the medical service provider
Coinsurance – Percentage of all bills the insurance does not pay

If you represent a company interested in offering the best health insurance benefits to employees, it makes sense to minimize all three of these payments as much as possible. However, you cannot amply take on 100% of all medical bill responsibilities. Consider working with an employer benefit consultant to learn about all your options for overall savings.

Costs of Group Health Insurance for Employers

According to a survey conducted by the nonprofit National Business Group on Health in 2020, the average expenditure for employees is approximately $15,000 annually. For many workers, this is a considerable amount of money that would stretch their budget and uncomfortable amount. In order to minimize these expenses, the employer themselves can make smarter choices about the policies and packages they provide.

Some Options for Minimizing Insurance Expenses

Far too many businesses look to eradicate benefits in an attempt to save money. This backfires with employee dissatisfaction, retention issues, lack of value for jobseekers, and an overall hit to morale that can affect productivity and profitability.

Employers can save their workers money on health coverage with the following:

Health Savings Accounts

Individuals who put money aside in a tax-free account specifically designated for medical expenses can save money in the long run in conjunction with healthcare benefits that involve high deductibles. Your business saves money by not paying out earlier, and the employee can save money on their taxes and ensure they have enough cash on hand to cover bills.

Optional Supplemental Insurance

Supplemental insurance policies add options for employees who want to avail themselves of extra coverage. This may keep your expenses down to begin with as you do not have to pay the maximum for every worker in a shared cost plan.

Medical Expense Reimbursement Plans

Combined with a high deductible group health insurance policy, a self-funded MERP can bridge the gap between what the employer and employee have to pay. This works well because workers do not have to sacrifice coverage while saving money.

Many options exist for overall savings when it comes to offering health insurance policies to employees. Working with ClaimLinx and a professional consulting team who has a strong track record of success can help you reap all the benefits of an affordable plan and employee policy management.

Congress Passes First Joint Budget Agreement in 6 Years

by Whitney FaberMay 6, 2015November 15, 20191 Comment

For the first time since 2009, Congress is in agreement on its fiduciary goals for the country. This month, the Senate passed a budget agreement, the first joint budget resolution to be passed in six years.

The proposal passed 226-197 in the House of Representatives and 51-48 in the Senate. All Democrats in the House and Senate voted against the agreement.

The proposal outlines deep cuts in domestic spending to eliminate the deficit within the next 10 years. It keeps in place the across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester, but adds nearly $90 billion to a supplemental war fund that is not held to the budgetary curbs.

“No budget will ever be perfect, but this is a budget that sensibly addresses the concerns of many different members,” Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, said in a press conference.

There are, however, few indications these spending cuts will take hold in the immediate future. Budget resolutions are used as an outline to set spending levels on future separate appropriations bills.

President Barack Obama has said he will not sign any spending measures that keep the sequester in place. He has also said he wants to see equal increases in military and domestic spending.

White House press secretary John Earnest said the budget proposal would hurt middle-class families, which rely on the domestic programs Republicans hope to cut.

“Congressional Republicans propose drastic cuts to programs that support the middle class and provide ladders of opportunity for those seeking to reach the middle class,” he said.

Also included in the budget was a procedural tool for passing bills known as reconciliation. This measure allows for legislation to pass through both chambers of Congress with a simple majority vote. Most bills will require 60 votes to overcome procedural challenges, and Republicans currently control 54 seats.

Republicans say they plan to use this tool to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, despite the Obama’s vow to veto any legislation intended to unravel or repeal the health care law.