Florida Group Health Insurance Blog

Offering health insurance to employees is a great way to attract quality candidates and to boost employee retention. If small or large business owners are interested in trying to save on the premiums they’re going to pay for employees, there are several things they can do to control costs.

One of the most important things for employers is to make sure they have properly considered all options before selecting an insurance plan for employees. If an employer is looking to provide insurance for its employees, it will be important to seek quotations from more than one insurance company. Also, employers should be certain to consider each plan the companies have to offer. In order to find the best price, employers will need to focus on getting quotes from multiple insurance companies and then evaluating the various types of health insurance plans offered within each of these companies.

Another way that business owners can help to control the cost of providing group health care insurance is by shifting some of those costs to employees. One of the most common ways to share these costs is by increasing the employee’s out-of-pocket costs by choosing higher deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. Another more direct method of sharing the cost of insurance with employees involves sharing in the cost of the monthly health care premiums. In choosing this option, both the employer and the employees would be sharing the cost of the insurance premiums.

In addition, there may be several income tax incentives or benefits one can derive as a business owner when he or she chooses to provide health insurance to employees.  Premiums paid are usually considered a business expense and are fully deductible under federal income taxes. Under the new healthcare law, small business will receive 35 percent tax credit on the premiums they pay for their employees’ health coverage. Businesses, including non-profit organizations, will be eligible for the tax credit if they have fewer than 25 full-time employees, pay an average salary of $50,000 or less per year, and cover at least 50 percent of their workers’ health costs.

By offering employees health care, an employer can help build the company’s reputation and attract quality employees who are more likely to stay in their positions for longer periods of time.

To learn more visit: http://www.grouphealthflorida.com

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The IRS has announced changes to health savings accounts contribution limits for 2011. Due to a cost of living, contribution limits will remain as they are in 2010.

According to a census of insurance firms that America’s Health Insurance Plans released last month, more than 10 million U.S. residents are covered by health savings accounts (HSAs). These plans allow individuals to contribute thousands of pre-tax dollars to HSAs, which participants may spend on health care needs or roll over indefinitely. HSA accounts were initially chosen by consumers who might otherwise go without insurance because of its high cost or their good health, but the recent rise has been fueled by more companies and their employees opting for the plans. Choosing these plans does shift the risk onto the patient but offers less-expensive premiums than traditional coverage.

Recently, the IRS released the 2011 cost-of -living adjusted HSA contribution limits. Individuals must have a high deductible plan in order to qualify to make an HSA contribution. HSA contribution limits, along with high-deductible health plan (HDHP) deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, will stay the same as they are in 2010. This decision is due to the cost-of-living remaining flat. After the application of the cost-of-living adjustment rules, the changes in the Consumer Price Index for the relevant period did not result in any changes to the HSA amounts for 2011.
Under Internal Revenue Service Revenue Procedure 2010-22:

The annual HSA contribution limit for employee-only coverage will remain at $3,050 ($6,150 for family coverage).

The minimum deductible for employee-only HDHP coverage will remain at $1,200 ($2,400 for family coverage)

The limit on maximum out-of-pocket expenses (including deductibles, co-pays and co-insurance but not premiums) for employee-only coverage will remain at $5,950 ($11,900 for family coverage).
The catch-up contribution limit, for individuals who are 55 or older, will remain at $1,000.

While most of the HSA limits will stay the same, one significant change that will occur in 2011 is the penalty on taxable, non-medical distributions. The penalty for 2010 is 10% and this will increase to 20% starting in 2011.

Bradley Palmer is with Grouphealthflorida.com offering Florida Group Health Insurance. To learn more about group health insurance, visit http://www.grouphealthflorida.com.

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While many believe that employee paid group health insurance only has great benefits for employees, it can also have great benefits for employers. Employers can use this benefit as a means of attracting employees.

Having a group health policy available for employees is a great way for employees to build their reputation as an employer of choice. Potential job seekers will more likely be attracted to a company that offers health benefits than one that does not. Employers who choose to offer a benefit package will then be able to attract the top professionals in the field.

In addition, offering group health insurance will help with employee retention. Employees who have benefits are less likely to leave a job that offers good benefits. While some employees may be tempted to leave their job for one that offers higher pay, they would be more likely to stay at a job with lower pay and good benefits rather than taking a higher paying job with little or no benefits.

Another benefit of purchasing group health insurance for employees is that it will help to keep employees healthy. People who have medical insurance will be healthier than those who go without it. They will take the opportunity to engage in preventative health measures, as it will be covered by their benefits. Also, if employees do get sick, they will be able to see a doctor and recover faster than those who are not able to see a doctor for lack of benefits. This means that they will miss less time from work and can be more productive.

Finally, offering employers insurance through a group plan offers businesses opportunities for tax breaks. Under the new health care bill, small businesses are eligible for tax breaks for offering coverage to their employees.

While getting group coverage for employees can be expensive for employers, it will actually pay off in the long run. Contact a licensed insurance agent who can provide your small business with information about group health policies.

To learn more visit: http://www.grouphealthflorida.com

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http://www.healthink.com/florida/newsfromblue/PDF/HealthCareReformKeyHighlights.pdf#zoom=100

Call 1-800-873-5713  Grouphealthflorida.com Floridas #1 Group health agency for a Blue Cross Blue Shield quote in Florida .

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The Internal Revenue Service has come out with guidelines for small commercial and nonprofit employers that want to take advantage of a new health insurance tax break.

The small employer health insurance tax credit guidelines, given in IRS Notice 2010-44, include examples that can help employers and their benefits advisors determine whether the employers are eligible for the tax break, and exactly how much of the new federal health insurance tax credit the employers can claim.

Calculating exactly how small an employer is for tax credit purposes will depend partly on the definition of “full-time equivalent” employee, officials write in the notice.

“In general, employees who perform services for the employer during the taxable year are taken into account in determining the employer’s FTEs, average wages, and premiums paid,” officials write.

But “partners in a business and certain owners are not taken into account as employees,” officials write. “Specifically, sole proprietors, partners in a partnership, shareholders owning more than 2% of an S corporation.

Owners and partners need not count family members or other dependents who are members of their households as employees when they are trying to qualify for the tax credit.

Season workers count toward the FTE total only if they work for an employer on more than 120 days during the taxable year.

IRS officials devote another section to computing workers’ hours.

The IRS issued the notice to implement a new tax law, Section 45R of the Internal Revenue Code, which was added by Section 1421 of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

PPACA and a companion act, the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, are part of what federal agencies have dubbed the Affordable Care Act.

This year, the new ACA small business tax break will offer small employers a tax credit equal to at least half the cost of single coverage, if the employees earn average wages of less than $50,000 per year.

The tax credit is not available to ordinary government employers, but it is available to small businesses, small tax-exempt employers, and government-affiliated tax-exempt employers that can be described as section 501(c) organizations.

“For tax years 2010 to 2013, the maximum credit is 35% of premiums paid by eligible small business employers and 25% of premiums paid by eligible employers that are tax-exempt organizations,” officials write in a summary of the notice.

Employers with 10 or fewer FTE employees that pay annual average wages of $25,000 or less can qualify for the maximum credit.

Employers with 10 to 25 FTE employees that pay annual wages of $50,000 or less can qualify for a smaller tax credit.

 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-10-44.pdf

Call 1-800-873-5713 , Grouphealthflorida.com Floridas #1 Group health agency .

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If you own a business and are looking for an affordable group insurance plan that has versatile coverage, then a group point-of-service (POS) plan could be an option for you. POS plans are a form of managed care hybrid plans, and are similar to group HMO plans or group PPO plans.

A basic principle governs POS plans: employees get lower medical costs in exchange for restricting their health care choices. A group POS plan will give your employees the option to decide when, where, and how they receive benefits and will give them control over their out-of-pocket expenses.

Group POS plans operate using a “two-level” benefits system: in-plan and out-of-plan. In-plan refers to the care received from a list of doctors who are in the plan’s pre-approved network. Out-of-plan refers to care received from doctors who have not been pre-approved and are thus not in the network. In-plan care provides employees with savings, while out-of-plan care can provide flexibility and freedom in choosing the right healthcare provider.

Group POS plans are not the right choice for all employers and employees, so employers must carefully weigh the benefits and disadvantages of the plan before making a choice.

Some advantages of group POS plans are:

Employees will not be limited to network care providers.

For in-network care, co-payments will be low and the plan’s deductible will not be applied.

Out-of-pocket costs for employees will be limited.

Employees will have more freedom than members of other managed care plans.

Employees will not need a referral from their primary caregiver for any necessary, emergency services.

Some disadvantages of group POS plans are:

Co-payments for any out-of-network care employees receive will be high.

The plan deductible will be applied to employees’ out-of-network care.

Employees may experience problems getting a referral to a specialist.

If employees are traveling outside of the plan’s network-area or have a dependent living outside of it, benefits will cost more out-of-pocket.

Choosing a group POS plan may be the right choice for your employees. A licensed Florida insurance agent can help you decide if this type of plan is right for your employees.

Bradley Palmer is with Grouphealthflorida.com offering Florida Group Health Insurance. To learn more about group health insurance, visit http://www.grouphealthflorida.com.

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While this will not come as any great surprise, it is a bit disheartening given the current state of the U.S. economy. Americans who have health insurance through an employer will likely be taking on more of a financial burden health insurance wise this year.

There aren’t too many workers who passed on taking a closer look at their medical options this year during the annual “open enrollment” period at their companies. Most are now forking over more cash to cover a larger premium, paying higher out-of-pocket expenses and doing more self-care. There are a great number of these employees who have also gone to less expensive “catastrophic” coverage.

The state of the economy has become so desperate that those who still have work are readily accepting fewer benefits and paying lower contributions. This is a radical change in the system because it means employees are giving up HMOs or PPOs that used to provide them nearly unlimited access to physicians, with small co-pays for visits and prescriptions.

In many instances the subtle switch is now to high-deductible health plans with a health savings account or health reimbursement account, otherwise known as HSA

and HRA respectively. In part, this shift of choices on the part of workers is due to what they are being offered by their employers. This year virtually 46 percent made it a point to offer their employees some type of account-based health plan. It’s evident the trend will continue until the situation with the economy is sorted out.

Smart employers are combining things such as an HSA with a high-deductible health policy, in the bid to cut-back on the cost of insurance premiums. By implementing this type of coverage in the workplace, the employer and employees become partners in trying to reduce the costs of medical expenses. It will be interesting to see the long-term results of this new approach to cost effectiveness in managing health expenses.

To learn more about Florida group health insurance, Tampa group health insurance, Sarasota group health insurance, Miami group health insurance, or Orlando group health insurance, visit Grouphealthflorida.com or call 1-800-873-5713.

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Lately there are some interesting statistics being compiled which show that people who are in health plans and have health savings accounts or health reimbursement arrangements are more likely to get preventive care. This is opposed to those who happen to be in a conventional plan instead.

The people who participated in the web survey that offered up these latest figures were in the 21 to 64 year old bracket and privately insured. It appears, on first glance, that the numbers from 2007 indicate 2% enrolled in health account plans, a one percent jump from 2005. However the numbers do seem to be climbing steadily, which is a good sign.

Most conventional plans have an average satisfaction rating of about 64% compared to the health account numbers of roughly 47% expressing satisfaction. The 47% is up from 37% and again, the numbers do appear to be on the increase, albeit slowly. That is not unusual when it comes to something new. People always take time to get used to adjustments in their insurance plans, especially when it is something newer or more innovative.

There is reason to be upbeat about the slowly increasing numbers for another reason, and the reason is that health account plans are being viewed as a vehicle which will assist in keeping down the costs and broadening access to insurance coverage. In this day and age when more Americans need access to the health care system, greater access can only be a good thing.

While it may also be said that these plans are not yet solving the problems they were set up to tackle, the survey results do show (and encouragingly so) that the efforts of high-deductible health account plans, which are offering wellness benefits for a low or no deductible basis, are paying off.

Encouragingly, health account plan participants now seem to be opting for as much preventive care as those in a conventional health plan. In addition, they also seem to be using about the same amount of prescription drugs as those in conventional plans.

Any time that the figures for those seeking preventive health care start to climb, you know there is a major shift of attitude toward wellness going on. The survey figures are beginning to show increases in women going in more frequently for Pap smears, and men and women going for cholesterol testing. Evidently more people are also making regular wellness visits to their doctor’s offices, which can only be viewed as a good thing. Perhaps it’s time to consider a switch to a health account plan. Speak to your local health insurance broker.

To learn more about Florida group health insurance, Tampa group health insurance, Sarasota group health insurance, Miami group health insurance, or Orlando group health insurance, visit Grouphealthflorida.com or call 1-800-873-5713.

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The uninsured in Florida do have access to affordable health insurance plans thanks to the Cover Health initiative announced in January 2009. The question is whether this program will change now that the Obama bail out package has been announced.

The Cover Florida plan was designed to assist over 3.8 million people in the state that had no health insurance. The general idea was that six larger health insurance companies would offer 25 different plans and the cost of those plans would vary by county and whether a person chose a catastrophic or preventative plan.

The prices under this program could range from a low of $51 monthly to roughly $290 on a monthly basis, which is pretty good bucks all things considered in this particular economy. However even the lower end price of $51 may be impossible for the jobless and homeless – another frightening reality in the 21st century. It isn’t clear how this program would mesh, if at all, with the latest health insurance plans announced by the White House.

While the Cover Florida program is ideally about freedom and choices, the recent White House plan doesn’t seem to cater to the freedom or choices aspect of the Florida program. The two programs just might not fly together, as the national one may overtake and change the parameters of the Florida package.

As with every new or seemingly new plan there are things lurking in the wings, just under the fringe of the carpet. For instance, one major company’s deductible structure shows that a family who chooses a catastrophic plan would be paying a $3,000 deductible. This is hardly a plan that either the homeless or jobless will be able to consider.

The changes the new White House announcements will make to this plan are questionable at best, and unknown to say the least. While they may make the pricing structures more accessible due to the competition factor, there may still be a gap that low income and no income people are unable to cross.

The clock is ticking and the nation is watching where the latest developments in health care innovations will take Americans. The hope is that it will be to a place where everyone has reasonable health insurance coverage, and privacy and choices that suit their circumstances.

To learn more about Florida group health insurance, Tampa group health insurance, Sarasota group health insurance, Miami group health insurance, or Orlando group health insurance, visit Grouphealthflorida.com or call 1-800-873-5713.

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Offering the benefit of group health insurance is a good way to keep employees in Florida.

Group health insurance is a fairly common term and most people understand what it represents. They may have even had it at one time, or currently are enjoying the benefits of Florida group health insurance through their employer. While some Americans are fairly health insurance savvy, others don’t really know what health insurance means.

Simply put, health insurance is a form of group insurance. What happens here is that people pay premiums or taxes to cover themselves or their families for health care expenses. The way that premiums are figured out is by estimating the “risk” for health-related expenses for a year and then projecting a payment structure for premiums based on the assessed risk.

The fact that a person is paying for health insurance coverage over a period of the year means they have the coverage at their fingertips when it’s needed. In general there is a health insurance company that regulates the benefits and administers the health insurance policies. The policy is a contract between the insurance company and an individual.

When people are paying their health insurance premiums on a monthly or yearly basis, it means their contract with the health insurance company is renewed every time they make a payment. Payment may come in the form of co-insurance, a co-payment, a deductible or as a premium. Paying on the health insurance contract guarantees the insured health care coverage; a guarantee that is outlined in the contract along with what benefits the insured receives from that particular health insurance agreement. Some policies will also cover the cost of prescription drugs.

People with health insurance don’t always see bills when they go to a medical professionals office, as the doctors, etc. tend to bill the insurance company if the person signs an agreement that says they will pay any difference the health insurance company does not pick up.

To uncomplicate things, health insurance providers have set up networks of physicians they work with regularly. When insured individuals go to an “in network” doctor, that doctor takes the insurance payment for services rendered from the insurance company and waives anything above that billed out amount.

To learn more about Florida group health insurance, Tampa group health insurance, Sarasota group health insurance, Miami group health insurance, or Orlando group health insurance, visit Grouphealthflorida.com or call 1-800-873-5713.

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