Guide to Small Business Health Insurance
Having health insurance is important to your physical, as well as financial, well being. The cost of a sudden illness or long-term treatment can quickly deplete your savings. If you operate a small business, it can also eat into your profits or force your uninsured employees to leave for jobs that offer a health benefit. Thankfully, small businesses can take advantage of health insurance plans that make it more cost effective to cover everyone.
Other People Are Reading
-
Options
-
Small business owners usually have several choices for health insurance for their employees, one of which is traditional group coverage. However, group coverage rates can be high unless there is a large enough pool of workers to spread out the coverage rates. Another option is to pay for some or all of the premiums associated with individual health insurance policies for your workers. Finally, you can participate in a discount medical insurance plan that offers special low rates for small businesses, but may require you to purchase membership for yourself and each of your employees every year.
Getting Started
-
While working to start your small business you may have difficulty finding insurance for yourself. As a sole proprietor, your small business may not have the staff to make group coverage possible. Instead you can use the consolidated omnibus reconciliation act, or COBRA coverage, which extends the coverage you used to have through an employer at a rate that is likely lower than what you'd pay for an individual plan. Later you can transfer into a plan that offers coverage for members of a group or organization you belong to, such as a regional business owners association or an automobile club.
-
Shopping
-
The process of shopping for health insurance is complicated enough for an individual, let alone a small business. If you can't find a rate you think is reasonable, contact an insurance broker. Brokers have access to health plans and coverage options that aren't necessarily advertised alongside the money-making plans that insurance companies like to sell. While the broker will earn a fee for her efforts, you may find a way to save your business a large amount of money on health insurance.
Taxes
-
Another important consideration for small business owners seeking health insurance plans is the tax implication of paying for an employee health plan. If your business reports a profit for income taxes on Schedules C, C-EZ or F, you can deduct the entire amount that you spend on health insurance for your employees, including yourself as the owner, from your business's taxable income. This means that offering health insurance can be good for the business, as well as a way to care for your staff.
-
