Are You Covered? Health Insurance For Small Businesses

If you are a sole proprietor or small businessincluding mammograms and diabetescare.
owner andrequire health insurance for you or yourGroup Health Insurance
employees, thereare many options available thatFor small employers (2-50 employees) group
will provide coverage for areasonable premium.health insuranceplans are a good idea if you want
You will, however, be required to carryout a goodto provide adequatecoverage for yourself and
amount of research before finding anyour small group of employees.
insurancecompany that will suit your needs, asAccording to guaranteed issue, insurance
there are a lot ofchoices out there. In addition,companies mustsell small employers small group
you have to ensure that thecompany you chooseinsurance under mostcircumstances. If you and
for your health insurance coverageprovides theyour group fall within theparticipation requirements
kind of plan that will be most beneficial intimes ofyou cannot be turned down. Anemployee is
greatest need.considered insurable if he/she works for you
Individual Health Insuranceaminimum of 24 hours a week on a regular basis
Individual health insurance is coverage intended for¨C thisincludes household workers.
oneperson. If you are self-employed or run yourUsually a group health insurance plan requires that
own business,you don¡¯t have accessacertain percentage of your employees participate
to a group health insurance planthrough anin theplan and you might have to contribute a
employer, and must purchase your ownminimum percentageof their premiums. Luckily,
coveragefrom one of the many health insuranceguaranteed renewability makesit so that you
providers located inyour state.cannot have your coverage cancelled if oneof
There are some pitfalls to obtaining your healthyour workers becomes ill. This is definitely a plus
insurancefrom the private sector. For instance,soyou always have access to continuous group
limitations existthat might make it difficult tocoverage and arenever left by the wayside
derive guaranteed benefitsfrom a privatewithout the proper insurance.
insurance policy as an individual. PrivatecompaniesHMOs and Blue Cross Blue Shield, again, are
have a right to ask you for informationprohibited bylaw from charging more due to the
regardingyour current and past health, and arehealth status of one ormore employees. At the
also allowed toreject you for insurance purposessame time, private companies areallowed to
based on your healthstatus, or impose limitationscharge higher rates if they deem it necessary.
on your coverage.In addition, someone who is self-employed with no
Blue Cross Blue Shield, on the other hand, isotherworkers may be able to purchase small
required bylaw to sell individual health insurance togroup health plancoverage from Blue Cross Blue
any residentregardless of health status. This isShield. Specifically, soleproprietors are given the
referred to asguaranteed issue. They must alsooption of buying
refrain from charging youmore due to any¡°group-of-one¡±policies from
current or preexisting conditions ¨C thisisthis organization. Other insurers also offerthis type
called community rating. HMOs are also required toof coverage but are not required to offer it.
sellhealth insurance to any individual during theYouare a sole proprietor if you: are a resident of
30-day openenrolment period that occurs eachyour state,work at least 30 hours a week and
year.gain at least 50% of yourtaxable income from
Individual health insurance policies can varyyour business.
depending onthe company. There are no laws thatIn addition, self-employed individuals can have
force private companiesto offer the same health100% oftheir health insurance premiums deducted
insurance products so coverageplans fromfrom their federalincome tax. If you are a
different providers can offer quitemember of a professional or tradeassociation you
differentcoverage. But certain benefits for healthmight be able to receive group coverageunder the
insurance must beprovided in the coverage,organization¡¯s insurance umbrella.