- Providing world class service and value for employee benefit group plans since 1987
There is so much involved in large group employee benefits that without experience in the group health insurance industry and knowledge of all local, state and federal laws, it is almost impossible to find a suitable employee benefits plan. The laws regarding adequate health insurance can get confusing yet they all have similar goals. They want quality and affordable healthcare coverage for employed individuals working full-time in business hours by state standards. One of the ACA’s goals is to provide affordable health insurance for those under the national poverty levels.
It’s no secret that the most efficient way to find an employee benefits package that addresses the needs of your employees as well as the laws is by hiring an insurance broker with a successful past in the large group health insurance industry. They are more helpful than you may assume especially for business owners seeking large group health plans.
Searching for a large group employee benefit package is easy when an insurance broker handles the task. They’ll have a large network of highly respected large group coverage insurance companies they like to work with.
A broker is a skilled negotiator for offering benefits and will have the ability to customize your large group health plans while getting the most affordable health care quotes to offer their clients.
Insurance brokers will provide their assistance throughout the duration of your large group employee benefits. They’ll also monitor your compliance with all laws and perform regular audits for the employee benefit program. If any changes are made to the healthcare reform or employee benefits, your broker will edit your group health plans accordingly.
They will then inform you of any changes made and help you find a way to notify your employees so that they understand the modifications.
As a large or small business owner, the last thing on your mind is the consistency of your employee benefits package, yet this is one of the key elements to your life insurance company’s success. Don’t stress yourself out searching for affordable yet quality employee benefits.
Even if you find a good health plan, you’ll need to remain knowledgeable of the large group market insurance laws, labor statistics, and constant changes in the healthcare reforms and wellness programs.
Avoid these stressors by hiring a licensed health care insurance broker nearby your company’s location and explain what you’re looking for.
Employers need to provide the following voluntary benefits and compensation to their employees as specified by state or federal laws. Please confirm your state laws before choosing any employee benefits insurance plan.
If you have an employee strength of 20+ employees, you need to provide the same benefits to your earlier employees (as well as their dependents) till 18 months, even when they have stopped working for you.
Please check the “mini-COBRA” laws provided by the state to provide other benefits to you in case you lose the job. Every state has different laws for providing employee benefits to its members. Therefore, employees need not purchase coverage for self funded plans or individual insurance till their group plan is active with the employer.
The objective of disability and workers’ compensation is to provide a sick or injured employee a part of their salary until they come back to work in good health.
Workers’ compensation and disability needs for employers vary from one state to other, but is counted as one of the good benefits that employees choose. Every employee on payroll is insured for workers’ compensation if they get injured or sick while doing their job.
Many companies are offering employee benefits to their workers, but it is not a mandatory condition. Some small businesses are exempted from doing so.
Disability coverage is provided by employers in a few states only. However, many employers provide this coverage by themselves.
According to the FLSA act, the minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour. The labor statistics shows that the minimum wage is paid to all employees in the United States. Also, it should be noted that highest minimum wage law will preside over other laws.
For example, according to New York’s minimum wage laws, a higher pay is guaranteed compared to the federal minimum wage law. Hence, the state’s laws override the federal minimum wage laws.
Obamacare (Affordable care act) sets minimum standards of services and health care coverage for all the insurance companies. A minimum strength of 50+ employees in an organization must be provided with health coverage plans by their employers or they will be levied a fine.
Individual small group market plans are available for those employees who want fully insured plans coverage apart from their employer plans or those who aren’t covered by employers.
Generally, most of the plans provide medical costs coverage such as visits to physicians and healthcare specialists, emergency care, and hospitalization.
Prescription, alternate medical healthcare, wellness, dental plans, and vision care coverage are also included in your health coverage plan. Pet insurance is not a part of the health plan.
Those employees who are working for a minimum of 30 hours a week must be provided extensive health care coverage by their employers. Workers with paid time offs are also covered by these health insurance plans.
These employee benefits vary from company to company. Let’s take a look at the employee benefits given by most employers.
Dental Care: Dental coverage and dental benefits vary according to the company culture. Covering company will pay some part of the treatment cost for dental services. This dental coverage offers a wide range of services and procedures.
Severance Pay: It is not mandatory for employers to pay severance to their employees if they are laying them off due to that redundancies or downsizing. However, many employers give severance pay to their employees.
Timely Lunch Breaks and Schedules: Many employers provide flexible work schedules such as 30-minute breaks, recreation and fitness to attract top talent.
Also, some employers compensate for meals or other events which require communication with their customers.
Employee benefit packages consume a lot of time of an HR professional. And not to mention, they are one of the most important employee retention and engagement strategies for small businesses. They also attract talent as well.
Most employees look for work benefits as the topmost reason for choosing and staying in a job. The importance of employee benefits can’t be denied.
According to a study conducted by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), 92% of employees think employment health benefits an important reason for overall job satisfaction. It is a great way to retain employees and increase productivity.
You can easily pamper high-performing employees by providing them with health coverage options without investing in high pay raises. Small group premiums helps the employees cover the cost of their medical treatment at hospitals.
Even if employers offer less pay, employees will be happy if they are provided with the best health insurance coverage, paid vacation leave, gym memberships, retirement plans, and flexible working hours. Some employees even ask for pet insurance or tuition reimbursement of their children. A term known as salary packaging means giving up a part of your salary for employee benefits. This helps in saving tax for both parties i.e. employers as well as employees.
Most employers offer medical insurance covering benefits like prescriptions, doctor visits, and surgeries. Employers generally pay some portion of this premium amount. It is one of the major benefits provided by the employer to its employees.
Most dental policies cover X-rays, cleaning, annual examinations, and fluoride treatments for its employees.
Vision insurance helps its employees to cover vision care expenses such as prescription glasses, routine eye examinations, and contact lenses.
Small group health plans generally do not cover vision or dental insurance but large group employee benefits have them covered.
Flexible Spending Account is a tax free special account used by employees to pay for out-of-pocket health plan costs.
Employees save some money as they are exempted from paying taxes. The amount chosen must be used in the same year.
It’s not necessary for the employer to pay the contribution under this plan, but if they want, they can necessarily pay for it.
An HSA is also a savings account which allows employees to keep aside money on pre-tax basis. It is similar to FSA, but here an employee is paying for qualified medical expenses.
Health care costs can be reduced considerably as the untaxed money can be used to pay for deductibles, coinsurance, copayments, and some other medical expenses.
HSA funds roll over to next year if they remain unspent by the employees. The interest gained on an HSA account remains taxable.
If employees are using a qualified High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP), then they can opt for HSA.
Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs), are group health insurance plans funded by the employer which offers a tax free amount reimbursed for qualified medical expenses.
The amount is fixed and can be rolled over so that it can be used in coming years.
Cancer insurance is a supplemental insurance. This insurance policy pays only after the diagnosis of cancer. Cancer insurance pays its policyholders a lump sum amount after diagnosis.
Also, the remaining period is covered. Still, some insurers offer supplemental payments for covering healthcare costs of cancer. Blue cross offers the best cancer insurance plans.
Also termed as Critical Illness coverage or Critical Care insurance, it provides a lump-sum amount to cover expenses related to a critical illness.
Except state or federal employees, all other employees need to pay a monthly fee for using insurance services. This insurance service covers your hospital costs. Make sure you don’t opt for high deductible health plans as the copay will be higher.
A life insurance policy is a contractual agreement of the insurer with an insurance company. In lieu of the premium amount, the life insurance company provides a big amount as a death benefit, to the dependents or beneficiaries upon the death of the insurer.
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance is used when a person gets seriously injured due to an accident or dies.
There are certain conditions which need to be fulfilled before claiming this insurance amount, such as cases where you lose a finger or a limb; lose speech, sight, or hearing; or suffer coma or paralysis due to an accident.
In disability insurance, an employer pays a certain portion of an employee’s income in case he can’t join work due to injury or illness.
An employer can offer two types of disability insurance, namely short-term and long-term. Both these disability insurance have their own benefits.
Administration of employee benefits is a serious problem for business owners, who remain unaware about the laws governing these policies. We take care of everything from the beginning to the end of this employee benefits administration process, which includes the following points:
With increasing competition for finding and retaining talented employees, it becomes necessary that leaders and small business owners provide the best health and wellness benefits to their employees. Along with it, the time off benefits, retirement plans, employee assistance program, paid parental leave, tuition reimbursement, health savings accounts, and other common benefit should be given to the employees to motivate employees.
An experienced team can bring your company at par with larger companies in providing health plan benefits to your employees without going over budget. To experience the best employee assistance program services and what we have to offer to your company, contact us now.
Todd Taylor with Taylor Benefits gives our small business the kind of personal service we need. Insurance benefits are important to our employees and Todd helps us find a balance between benefits and value. Todd responds immediately to my phone calls & e-mails. He has even gotten in touch with me on a Sunday when we were in need of coverage answers immediately. We are very pleased with the hands-on service Todd and his staff provide.”
-Ken and Linda Orvick, Orvick Management Group, Inc.
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