SOME QUICK CONSIDERATIONS WHEN
CHOOSING YOUR CALIFORNIA GROUP
HEALTH INSURANCE
FAQ’s when choosing Small Group Health Insurance
Question. What are the less expensive plans to purchase, HMO’s or PPO’s? It’s really a balance. The strong PPO plans are more expensive than the strong HMO plans, because it provides the ultimate of control, provider flexibility, and strong benefits. But, the market overall is moving towards PPO plans which contain a deductible for major medical services. The deductible lowers the monthly premium price for the Employer.
Question Who are the best California health insurance carriers to buy from? With California medical insurance there are several strong top health carriers to choose from like Blue Cross of California, Blue Shield of California, Health Net of California, Kaiser, and Pacificare of California (a UnitedHealthCare company). We recommend you stay within the top insurance carriers who offer the strongest financial stability, plan choices, and protection against insolvency. When a health carrier in California leaves the state and decides not to offer plans anymore, they either sell off their membership to a competing health carrier or they simply stop covering the membership. The members are then left to find new California medical insurance plans on their own and are guaranteed nothing. That’s right, if you have a pre-exisiting condition which results in an automatic decline for coverage you will be left without California medical insurance if you don’t have an employer sponsored plan option.
Question How much do I have to pay? As an employer offering California medical insurance to your employees there are several factors to consider in cost. California state regulation AB 1672 requires an Employer to pay for a minimum of 50% of the Employee only premium portion. Zero contribution is required for the dependent premium portion. Employers are often concerned with the proper balance between cost control and market competitiveness with other employers offering insurance plans. It’s impossible to say what is the average contribution for what percentage and plan level an Employer will cover because it’s really all over the map. Some employers pay 100% of premium for Employees and Dependents and others pay the minimum amounts required by the State of California legislation. You have to ask yourself what is fair coverage for your employees, what is fair to ask them to pay, and what is fair for you to cover yourself as a business expense. If the employees are extremely valuable and turnover is costly, then pay the majority of the premiums for both employee and their dependents.
Another strategy is to base the Employer premium contribution on a defined dollar amount instead of a percentage. For example, you could say you will contribute $200 per month per employee and hand the remaining cost over to the employee. The employee is then allowed to pay their portion of the premium with pre-tax payroll dollars utilizing a section of the Federal tax code, called a Section 125 POP (premium only plan).
Other
important
resources:
Carrier
comparison
in
California
California
Small Group
health quote
California
Small Group
online
doctor
listing
California
Group
Enrollment
and
Eligibility
Center
