Small Business Health Coverage

What is considered 'small business insurance'? Small businesses, by definition, employ between two and fifty workers.

The two most important questions any small-business owner will ask are "what type of coverage" and "how much?" Of course the second question is simple, it depends on what the companies budget can afford. The first question is the more difficult one. Type of coverage needed can often depend on the types of employees you have. Variables such as age, gender, and percentage of those with families, can all play a vital role in the decision making process. If the workforce is predominately young and single then their needs will be quite different than if the workforce is older, married and have children. The need for maternity benefits, dental benefits, optical programs, etc., all have to be evaluated.

Some of the basic questions that can assist in evaluating the needs of the company are: How many employees fall in each age group? How many are heads of households? What type of work do they perform? These evaluations can help guide what benefits will be most needed by them.

Types of Small Business Health Coverage

As with any health insurance plan, small business health insurance coverage is available in a variety of formats, including health maintenance organizations (HMOs), preferred provider organizations (PPOs), point-of-service (POS) plans, and fee-for-service options.

Other individual factors that may affects costs include general health, smoker/non-smoker, location, and whether or not the business has any level of risk associated with it (occupational hazard).

The Affordable Care Act was enacted on March 23, 2010. It contains some tax provisions that take effect this year and more that will be implemented during the next several years.

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