- Individual or Family Health
- Group Health Coverage
Small Business Health Insurance - Things to Consider
Small Businesses actually make up the majority of businesses in America. And whether you are self-employed or have a few employees you need to consider health insurance to protect your business and keep good people. We recognize that every business is different and can help you find a plan that is best for your and your businesses needs.
Please click for a quote for group health insurance.
A Small group is usually considered a business with number of employees between two and fifty, in some markets it can be up to one hundred. There are many factors to consider when looking for small group insurance, not the least of which is the make-up and medical history of those in the group. All of these variables affect the cost to you and your employees, for example individuals with greater risk often pay higher premium for insurance. The type of benefit plan you chose will also affect the premiums that you and your employees might pay. Fir any size business the options for Group Insurance Health Plans remain:
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
With a Health Maintenance Organization you are basically prepaying a set amount for health service at specific healthcare facility, hospital or group of health providers. The monthly rate you pay to the HMO is fixed regardless of the individual services you seek. Services are provided by physicians who are employed by, or under contract with, the HMO. HMOs vary in design. Depending on the type of the HMO, services may be provided in a central facility, or in the individual offices of participating physicians.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO)
The preferred provider organization is kind of like a “hybrid” between the traditional fee-for-service indemnity plan and an HMO. Like an HMO, there are a specific doctors and hospitals to choose from. The main difference between a PPO and an HMO and what makes them preferable to many medical consumers is that unlike with an HMO, in a PPO you do not need to select a primary care doctor, nor do you need to seek a referral to see any type of specialist participating in the network. You also are not necessarily restricted to only using physicians in the network but you will typically pay more for “out of network” services.
Indemnity (Fee-for-Service) Health Insurance
This is the traditional kind of health care policy. It offers the consumer the most freedom when it comes to picking hospitals, physicians and other healthcare providers. It is also understandably therefore, the most expensive type of insurance. In an Indemnity plan the insurance companies pay fees for the services provided to the insured. There are no restrictions on who the insured can see for covered medical expenses anywhere in the country. These are the types of plans that primarily existed before the rise of HMOs, IPAs, and PPOs. With indemnity plans, the individual pays a pre-determined percentage of the cost of health care services, and the insurance provider will pay the rest. For example, an individual might pay 20 percent for services and the insurance company pays 80 percent.
Please click for a quote for group health insurance