Round Rock Group Health Insurance & Employee Benefit Plans

The city of Round Rock has maintained a high quality life while becoming a major center for economic growth in Central Texas. This city is one of the fastest growing cities in the nations and the best managed cities in Texas. If you are an employer in this city, you definitely want to attract and keep top talent. There is no better way to do this than to offer your employees a comprehensive group health insurance and employee benefits plan.

Group Health Insurance and Employee Benefits

Although most employers consider group health insurance and employee benefits plans as being costly for the company’s bottom line, not providing health coverage could be a major misstep for your company. While it is true that health care reforms have resulted in an increase in the cost of providing health insurance that is a major component of an employee benefits plan, employers can still offer a comprehensive plan. In view of the Affordable Care Act, purchasing group health insurance is now more affordable than when your workers purchase it individually.

Round Rock, TX Large Group Health Insurance Plans

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) sets the threshold for large employers at fifty or more workers. It requires that those companies offer their employees and dependents a healthcare policy that meets the designated minimum affordability and coverage standards. The affordability provision applies only to the company’s employees, not their dependents. However, the coverage standards apply to every plan. To be affordable, the subscriber portion of the cost can’t exceed 9.12 percent of gross income for 2023.

Employers not offering qualifying health insurance may have to pay a shared responsibility penalty. The IRS can impose the penalty if the company doesn’t provide adequate insurance to at least 95 percent of its workers and dependents. Children up to age 26 are counted as dependents, but spouses and foster or stepchildren are not. Also, companies won’t need to pay the fine unless at least one of their employees receives a premium tax credit for buying insurance through a health insurance marketplace. Employees aren’t eligible for marketplace credits if the employer plan meets affordability and coverage standards, so it follows that employees in companies with satisfactory plans won’t need to obtain insurance elsewhere.

Round Rock, TX Small Business Health Insurance Plans

The Affordable Care Act exempts small companies (with fewer than fifty workers) from compliance. Fortunately for those companies that want to offer insurance policies anyway, the Act added resources to provide help. SHOP is the acronym for Small Business Health Options Program, which the ACA created for this function. Businesses can go directly to the SHOP website or get information from a broker like Taylor Benefits Insurance.

The ACA clarifies coverage for plans by assigning a metal tier designation. Metal names identify all qualified insurance plans to indicate their value. For example, bronze plans have a lower monthly premium but higher costs for service. Silver, gold, and platinum will require a higher premium but should cover more usage costs.

Round Rock TX Employee Benefit Plans and Employee Benefit Packages

Companies seeking to attract and retain employees using an excellent benefits package as an attraction may want to consider low-cost ways to stand out. One option is to add “voluntary benefits.” This term means providing programs that can offer access to discounts and money-saving offers. The employer often contributes little or nothing toward these perks but facilitates their availability for employees. The employee gets value due to the size of the potential pool of participants.

Voluntary benefits may include vision coverage, legal plans, pet insurance, long-term disability, long-term care, and discounts for other services like communications, recreation, and fitness centers. Sometimes employees can pay for these with pre-tax income.

Usually, companies will create a package of more traditional perks like health insurance, paid time off, and retirement savings and supplement those offerings with these extra options.