According to the Texas Association of Health Plans, group health insurance in Texas covers 47 percent of all insured Texans. In addition, just about one million people relied upon small business health insurance in Texas for their coverage. Since small group plans protect so many people in the Lone Star State, it’s important for small business owners to understand how they can obtain and afford high-quality group coverage to satisfy and protect their employees and themselves.
Understanding small business health insurance in Texas
How many employees do you need to be considered a small group in Texas? The Texas Department of Insurance, or TDI, defines small group health insurance in Texas as any group with at least two members, and no more than fifty.
These are answers to common questions about small business health insurance in Texas:
- What are small groups? Small employers with no more than 50 employees don’t have to pay penalties if they don’t offer small business health insurance in Texas. At the same time, employers must offer it to all full-time employees and dependents if they offer group health insurance to anybody. Employers may have the option to choose to offer group coverage to part-time or even contract employees, but that’s not a requirement.
- Do small businesses have to contribute to premiums? Small businesses also don’t have to offer to pay any of the premiums. Many insurance companies ask employers to pay at least half of the premiums to qualify for their plans. In the case of many plans, it will be required for the employer to contribute at least 50% of his or her employees’ premiums, but make sure to check your plan specifics to see what is required. Some companies may qualify for federal tax credits if they pay at least half of the premiums.
- What is a full-time employee? The TDI defines full-time employment as at least 30 hours a week. The law checks this by seeing if the employees work at least 120 hours in an average month. This way, hourly employees won’t lose their full-time status if they work less than 30 hours during some weeks because of a holiday, illness, or irregular schedule.
Texas doesn’t have its own Marketplace website, so small businesses in Texas must buy ACA Marketplace small business health insurance at the federal Marketplace, directly from an insurance company, or through a broker like eHealth. With eHealth, you will benefit from a streamlined sign up process that helps you gather and organize all the right information for whichever insurance company you’re purchasing from. You’ll also get to easily compare plans from several different companies that provide in your area.
How to learn more about group plans in your state
Small business owners in every state can rejoice, because eHealth has tools that allow you to shop for health insurance by state. With our resources, you don’t have to sift through plans that aren’t even available in your state–just visit our small business health insurance in Texas page, and you’ll be on your way to getting coverage for your small business.
Premiums for small business health insurance in Texas
Typically, health insurance quotes for small groups will show estimates for the share that the employer and employee pays. The employer’s share of the premium may depend upon the type of plan, they level of contributions, and the number of employees.
In addition, expect health insurance quotes for small business health insurance in all states to reflect these factors:
- Average employee ages: Insurance companies can’t increase premiums because of medical issues for group health insurance in Texas; however, they can base premiums upon average ages, according to the Texas Association of Health Plans.
- Tobacco use: Small groups with more smokers can pay higher premiums than groups with few or no employees who use tobacco.
- ZIP code or county: Insurance companies may charge different premiums in different geographic areas.
- Employer size: Somewhat larger groups may have advantages because they have greater buying power.
health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan, health insurance, health insurance, health insurance, insurance Health, health insurance in Texas , health insurance group plan,
No comments:
Post a Comment