Understanding Small Business Health Insurance Costs

What Is The Average Cost Of Small Business Insurance?

The cost of small business health insurance, also known as small group health insurance, will depend on the type of plan or plans provided by your business. As a small business owner, you will need to think of how much coverage is needed for your employees. Consider premiums, out-of-pocket costs, and provider networks when comparing plans.

What Are The Individual Costs To Consider For Group Health Insurance?

Premiums: Premiums are the monthly payments for health insurance coverage. Higher premiums provide more coverage for some plans. As a small business owner, you typically pay at least 50% of the premium for your employees. Paying half also allows your business to claim the federal government small-business healthcare tax credit.

Network: Some plans require employees to use doctors in their network or pay more for out-of-network providers.

Out-of-pocket costs: Out-of-pocket costs for employees include deductibles, coinsurance, and copayments for covered services plus all costs for services that aren't covered.

How Do Group Health Insurance Plans Differ In Cost From Individual Plans?

Group health insurance plans are evaluated by looking at the total group of employees in your company covered under the plan. With group health insurance, an employer pays all or part of the monthly premiums for the plan.

How Much Does Small Business Health Insurance Cost Per Employee?

A few factors affect what you will pay per employee for group health insurance. To calculate health insurance for your company, you need to determine the following:

Employee premium contributions

How much your employees contribute to monthly premiums affects the overall cost of health insurance for your business. As a small business owner, you may want to contribute more than half for group health insurance as an incentive for employee recruitment and retention.

Amount of coverage

As a small employer, you may want to include coverage specific to your industry, such as coverage for risk-related injuries and illnesses to protect against medical liability. Consider the age of the employees being covered and where they are located when it comes time to compare the cost of group insurance health plans.

Tax credits

Under the Affordable Care Act, employers who have fewer than 25 full-time employees, who pay average wages of $56,000 or less, or who cover at least half of their employees’ premiums are eligible for tax credits for their small group health insurance plans. These credits can help lower the cost of your small business health insurance.