Before deciding on the health plan that is best for you, it is recommended you consider your medical needs, the type of plan you want to enroll in, the plan features, your total out of pocket exposure, network hospital access, exclusions, premium, and customer reviews.

The main idea behind the Affordable Care Act was to remove the previous barriers to insurance coverage for most Americans who remained uninsured because of pre-existing conditions or issues of cost.

The Affordable Care Act has removed most of those barriers. A plan sold through your state’s health insurance exchange or small group ACA plan cannot deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. In addition, carriers cannot exclude pre-existing conditions from your coverage or increase premiums based on your medical history. These regulations apply to all individual major medical health insurance, regardless of whether they’re sold through the exchange or off-exchange. ACA compliant Small Group Health plans also follow these same regulations.

Offering health benefits has historically been one of the ways Employers of all sizes have attracted and retained talented workforces.
Let’s take a look at 4 reasons to consider Group coverage:

1. Attracting and retaining a talented workforce
   The workforce market has significantly changed since the Covid pandemic. Employees are drawn to companies that offer benefits. Having the ability to enroll in an employer’s health, dental, vision and life plans is easier for most people than having to shop for coverage on their own. And the employer contributions to the premiums are an added benefit that employees wouldn’t have if they worked for an employer that didn’t offer benefits.
   A 2022 survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute revealed the percentage of workers reporting that they were extremely or very satisfied with health benefits increased from 55 percent to 63 percent between 2020 and 2021
   The same survey also noted that nearly 1 in 5 workers would rather have more health benefits and would accept lower wages in return.
   It almost goes without saying that if you can afford to offer coverage, it will help your small business stand out from other businesses that are competing for your employees.
2. Tax Savings
   At the same time, dedicating funds to employee coverage will likely be less expensive than simply using the same money to provide higher wages.
   Health insurance is a form of compensation, but payroll and income taxes are not assessed – on you or your employees – on money that employers use to purchase health insurance (and in most cases, taxes are also not assessed on the portion of premiums that employees pay).
   In contrast, if you do not offer coverage and instead give your employees a raise equal to the amount you were paying in health insurance, payroll taxes and income tax withholdings would apply. This makes group health insurance an attractive way to optimize compensation while minimizing the tax hit for both employers and employees.
3. Shared Premium Responsibilities
   Employers are not regulated to solely be responsible for the whole burden of paying for the coverage. Most health plans require employers to pay at least 50 percent of each enrolled employee’s premiums. There are no regulations as to contribution requirements for dependents. Employees can be asked to pay up to the full cost of adding family members to the plan.
4. Healthier, happier employees
   Providing health coverage is an effective step toward improving the health of employees. With coverage, employees will be more likely to embrace preventive screenings and care. Having access to these services enables Employees to practice proactive care versus reactive. It also stands to reason that healthier – and insured – employees are less likely to be burdened by financial stress.
   By helping provide access to adequate care for your employees, the positive effects, in turn, are likely to boost attendance, productivity, and profits for your small business.

Contact us today to discuss how we can help you help your employees.

The question of who needs life insurance is very personal. The discussion of our deaths is frankly morbid. But a necessary consideration as it happens to all of us. An easy way to know if you need life insurance is to consider if your loved ones would suffer financially if you were to pass away. If the answer is yes, then there’s a good chance that you should consider life insurance.

Life insurance can help your loved ones cover expenses they currently or someday will face if your financial contributions were no longer available. Would it be a financial strain for a spouse or children to cover funeral costs, rent or mortgage payments, and childcare expenses? If the answer is yes, you should consider life insurance.

Contact us today for more information on how we can help ensure your loved one’s financial stability.