Starting your own business is exciting and will expand your professional capabilities, but it takes a lot of juggling.
There are so many aspects to starting a new business that it can be overwhelming at first.
You have to manage employees, payroll, marketing, production, and paying the bills, amongst other things.
One important part of owning a small business is health insurance. You will need the best health insurance in NJ for yourself and any employees working for you.
There are many options for health insurance policies for small businesses in New Jersey, so finding the right fit can be difficult.
Unfortunately, there is no one right answer when it comes to picking health insurance for your small business.
There are many criteria you need to weigh against the different healthcare options to choose the best policy for your business.
Following these tips and considering all the different aspects will help you save some time and anxiety when it comes time to choose a health insurance carrier and plan.
Finding the best health insurance in New Jersey doesn’t have to be hard!
Why is Health Insurance Important for Your Business
You may think there is no way you can afford to buy a health insurance plan when your business is still growing.
While it can put a strain on your finances, it doesn’t have to be, and the benefits far outweigh the costs.
There are many tax-friendly tools that you can use to help you afford the benefits. Having health insurance benefits is essential if you are going to attract and keep quality employees.
You must rely on your employees to run your business and interact with your customers.
Replacing employees takes time and money, so it is always better to keep a good employee than find a new one.
Not only is it beneficial to you and your employees to have health insurance, but under the Affordable Care Act, you must provide health insurance to your employees if you have over 50 employees.
Different Kinds of Small Business Health Insurance
It is important to understand the several kinds of health insurance available to small businesses before making the final decision.
Understanding all your options will help you make an informed decision that you will be happy with in the future.
Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) plans generally have low out-of-pocket costs. They are affordable and offer comprehensive health coverage.
The one thing you need to consider is that in order to get the benefits, care must be provided within an approved network, or you will be charged additional costs.
Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) plans have higher premiums than HMO plans, but they also offer a larger network.
This gives you greater flexibility to pick the doctors you want to see and the locations to which you need to travel to receive care.
Point of Service Plan (POS) health plans combine different features of the other plans. The premiums are usually in between the HMO and PPO plan premiums.
The size of the network of the POS health plan will vary depending on your location, so you will need to determine that before deciding.
Choosing the Right Small Business Health Insurance Plan
Before you can decide which kind of plan will be best for you, you need to think about your small business’s needs. You should consider who will be covered under the plan.
What needs will your employees and their families have, and which plan will fit the needs of a diverse group.
You also need to know how many employees you have that will be using the insurance.
You also need to think about the cost of insurance. How much can you afford to put into the cost-sharing?
The premiums for health insurance are paid by the employer and the employees, so you need to run the numbers to make the right choice.
It doesn’t make sense to get the most expensive insurance for your employees if it puts you out of business.
Some plans offer different coverage options, so you need to consider that when making a choice.
You cannot ask your employees about their medical history, but you can inquire which benefits are most important to them.
This can help you get an idea of which coverage areas are going to be essential.
Comparing the Options
Once you have a general idea about what your needs are, you can start comparing the best health insurance options in NJ from different providers.
There are five basic areas of a health insurance plan that you should consider. First, you need to understand the monthly premiums.
You need to know now only what you will have to pay each month for the insurance coverage, but also what your employees will need to pay.
If either you or your employees cannot afford the coverage, then it makes little sense to go with that plan.
You also need to know about the deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance criteria.
You and your employees will need to cover these costs in addition to the monthly premiums. Again, if these numbers don’t make sense, then the plan will not be right for you.
If the plan requires you to get care within a certain network, then you need to know which doctors are included in this network.
If you and your employees have preferred doctors already, then they should be included in the insurance plan.
At the very least, there should be enough providers within the network to give you and your employees easy access to the needed care.
Another aspect of an insurance plan is prescription drug coverage costs.
You need to know how much prescription drug costs are covered by insurance and if that amount makes sense for you and your employees.
You will also need to consider coverage add-ons like vision and dental care. If these are things you want to be included in the plan, then you will need to make sure that they are covered.
Sometimes there will be an extra cost to have these add-ons, so make sure you consider that as well. To get the best health insurance in NJ, speak with us at Schumacher.