Small Business Health Insurance - An Overview
2008-12-11
Owning your own small business is the dream of many Americans. They want to be their own boss, make their own hours, and never have to answer to anyone again. For those Americans who have run their own small business, however, they know these dreams are far from reality. A small business owner is beholden to his customers, often works more than sixty hours per week, and is saddled with taxes, loans, red-tape and the responsibility of finding his or her own small business health insurance.
What is defined as a Small Business?
A small business is typically defined as one employing at least two people and less than fifty. It doesn't matter if you are a small two-person cobbler shop making $20,000 a year, or a three-person law firm grossing over $3,000,000 a year, it all comes down to the amount of employees you have. This number, however, can include yourself if you have a salaried or hourly position. You will likely not be included if you if you are not just an owner reaping dividends or profits. Please consult with your accountant or lawyer, to determine if you can be classified as an employee or not.
Small Business Health Coverage is it Required?
Currently, small businesses are not required to offer health insurance to their employees. This may change based on new government regulations, but presently it is not required. However, businesses that offer health coverage to their employees in the form of group health insurance usually enjoy a better retention rate and have happier more productive employees. There are several options which allow you to have your employees contribute to their group health insurance plan, which will reduce your costs while still providing a valuable employee benefit. Actually, small business health insurance can be so cheap, that bars and restaurants can even offer the benefit.
Small Business Health Insurance Qualifications
The first thing to do is decide if you want to offer small business health insurance to you and your employees. In some states, you can just get health insurance just for a select number of your employees, such as upper management, or you and your business partner. In other states, however, you may be required to offer it to all employees. Please check with your insurance agent to see your specific options.
In nearly all cases, you need a minimum of two individual employees to get a small business health insurance quote. These individuals need to be salaried employees, or hourly employees that work full-time.
Is Small Business Health Insurance Adequate?
When you request a small business health insurance quote online, you'll be presented with options from several companies. Of course, the amount of coverage offered by each company will vary but in general small business health insurance is just as good as "big business" health coverage, and more encompassing than individual health insurance plans. If you get individual health insurance, you can be denied coverage for certain pre-existing conditions, and sometimes even pregnancy. Most, if not all, small business health insurance policies can not discriminate against pre-existing conditions, such as asthma, because it is a group coverage plan. Again, this depends on your specific policy, so consult your insurance agent or company for exact details.
Overall small business health insurance is a beneficial addition to any small business if they can afford it. It exceeds individual health insurance in terms of cost and coverage.