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Are You Making it Your Business to Get the Best Health Insurance?

Adam Groff

August 03, 2015

When it comes to insuring your employees, Obamacare has a number of health insurance payment plans to choose from.

However, the Affordable Care Act may not exactly be affordable for your small business.

Here are just a few ways your small business can navigate Obamacare and find the most affordable coverage available:

SHOP for Small Business

As part of the Affordable Care Act, the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP offers attractive insurance options and incentives for small businesses of all kinds. Although the program began in November 2014, SHOP doesn't go into full effect until November 2015.

SHOP is part of the Health Insurance Marketplace and currently offers employers with 50 full-time employees or less significant tax credits.

These tax credits can be used to pay for employee premiums, which is hugely beneficial for small businesses like yours.

The article "New Payment Models: Stepping Into the Future With Your Eyes Wide Open" mentions price transparency as an important part of the health insurance process. SHOP offers price transparency and a number of other benefits for your small business:

Benefits of SHOP

If you're accustomed to private insurers or your employees have their own healthcare coverage, SHOP is still worth looking into.

Whether your small business employs close to 50 workers or fewer than 10, the Affordable Care Act and SHOP offer some pretty unique benefits.

• Insurance Options - Unlike many private insurers, SHOP makes it possible for your small business to offer its employees qualified health plans from a number of diverse insurers.

• Health Plan Options - There are plenty of health plan options under the SHOP umbrella. Likewise, SHOP also provides in-depth side-by-side comparisons of health plans including information on costs, benefits, premiums, and other plan highlights.

• Plan Affordability - SHOP spreads insurer administrative costs across an ever-growing number of employers. This means your small business will save money just by shopping in the healthcare marketplace. Don't forget that these cost benefits are on top of tax credits and other subsidies available.

• Contribution Control - As an employer, you'll likely want to contribute to your employees' plans. SHOP allows you to adjust your contributions at any time without affecting the overall plan.

Other Small Business Healthcare Options Available

Although the Affordable Care Act is offered through the government, that doesn't mean your small business has to choose SHOP for its insurance needs. In fact, there are a number of different healthcare coverage options available.

For starters, you can encourage your employees to sign up for individual health insurance through a private provider. Individual insurance can oftentimes be more affordable than a group plan through your business.

Your business can also join a private health exchange, which offers numerous insurer options with competitive rates.

Joining a healthcare co-op is another healthcare option.

With a traditional co-op, your buying power increases because your business joins a marketplace with other businesses vying for local insurance providers.

When you're ready to find the best insurance plan for your small business and its employees, keep the options above in mind.

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