Ideas on Affordable Arizona Group Health Insurance

Arizona Small businesses have some unique challenge when considering how to best solve their employee benefits problem. Shockingly the size of the group and what percentage of employees willing to participate are factors that can wreak havoc on a small group health insurance plan. All insurance companies require that you maintain a minimum percentage of eligible employees on your health plan. A common percentage is 50 percent. If your small group should loose one employee and the percentage of employees drops below the minimum number requirement, all your employees will loose their coverage because the group will be disbanded. Why put yourself and your employees in this horrible situation, when you can institute these three ideas. Below are some great suggestions from past articles.

Individual Medical or (IM) are a type of voluntary health benefit that creates a total paradigm shift in the human resource equation. A total voluntary benefits package lifts the financial and management burden from the employer. All the owner is required to do is to payroll deduct the insurance premium of the employee each month and remit one consolidated payment to the insurance company. The employee still enjoys the benefits of the coverage and the advantage of payroll deduction. The insurance agent becomes the benefits coordinator and assists both the employees and the employer with their respective health benefits needs. It is a solution for those small businesses that can not offer benefits to their employees because the costs are prohibitive.
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HRA’s are an employer funded plan designed to reimburse employees for certain medical expenses (For a list of eligible expenses). Though an HRA is not health insurance, it is a supplemental health insurance plan that will pay for a wide range of health expenses, including an employee’s privately owned health policy premium. HRA’s are notional arrangements, meaning no funds are expensed until reimbursements are made. Those reimbursements are tax deductible to the employer and tax free to the employee. HRA’s are made available due to IRS code section 213d and IRS publication 502.
(Read the whole article)

Voluntary health insurance is a group of supplemental insurance indemnity policies that are designed to protect your employees from a variety of illnesses and calamities. National statistics show that, because these plans pay cash directly to the policy holder, employees love them. That is why there is not a single Fortune 500 company that does not offer a voluntary health plan as a part of their benefit package
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Each of these cost effective ideas can be implemented individually or all together to create a comprehensive benefits package. For additional information feel free to call me at (602) 502-3113 or fill out a confidential quote form at AzHealthNow.com

Voluntary Benefits Make Arizona Group Health Insurance Affordable

Arizona small businesses are on the front line of our national healthcare crises. Soaring premiums have left some employers unable to provide health insurance coverage for their valued employees. One easy answer is to implement a voluntary health plan for their employees.

Voluntary insurance plans are tax privileged for both the employee and the employer, so employees do not pay taxes on the money spent on these plans and the employers’ payroll tax is reduced as well. Employers are allowed to contribute any amount they would like for each class of employee they establish, but they are not required to contribute anything if they wish not to. Some insurance companies allow employers to start a group with as few as two employees. Establishing a voluntary insurance plan is the perfect addition for every Arizona business looking for affordable group health insurance.

Voluntary health insurance is a group of supplemental insurance indemnity policies that are designed to protect your employees from a variety of illnesses and calamities. National statistics show that, because these plans pay cash directly to the policy holder, employees love them. That is why there is not a single Fortune 500 company that does not offer a voluntary health plan as a part of their benefit package

Here is a list of some very common voluntary policies:

• Accident
• Cancer/Specified-Disease
• Dental
• Hospital Confinement Indemnity
• Hospital Confinement Sickness Indemnity
• Hospital Intensive Care
• Life
• Long-Term Care
• Short-Term Disability
• Specified Health Event
• Vision

For some employers these plans are all they can reasonably afford to offer their employees. But for many small Arizona businesses voluntary plans are but the icing on the cake of a comprehensive employee benefit package designed to be of genuine value to each employee and cost effective for the employer.

To learn more about voluntary health plans and/or to find Affordable Arizona Group Health Insurance call me at (602) 502-3113

Establishing an HRA Can Make Your Arizona Group Health Insurance Affordable

Continual increases in health insurance premiums have adversely affected Arizona businesses. No employer has been left unaffected. Some small businesses have even had to drop their group health plans due to skyrocketing costs. Neither John McCain nor Barrack Obama has health insurance plans that address the cost of premiums for the employer or their employees. With no help on the horizon from our government, employers have at least one possible solution to retain affordable Arizona health insurance by establishing a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA) plan for their employees.

HRA’s are an employer funded plan designed to reimburse employees for certain medical expenses (For a list of eligible expenses). Though an HRA is not health insurance, it is a supplemental health insurance plan that will pay for a wide range of health expenses, including an employee’s privately owned health policy premium. HRA’s are notional arrangements, meaning no funds are expensed until reimbursements are made. Those reimbursements are tax deductible to the employer and tax free to the employee. HRA’s are made available due to IRS code section 213d and IRS publication 502. For more detailed IRS information click here.

Unlike group health insurance plans, the employer decides what their monthly contribution level is going to be for each classification of employee they establish.
The monthly cost is fixed and only alterable by the employer. Also, employer dollars spent on the HRA are only paid when claims are filed. If an employee leaves a company they do not have the right to the funds an employer has allocated for their HRA plan. That unspent money stays with the employer and contributes to their bottom line.

Instead of paying additional monthly premiums to an insurance company for an expensive low deductible group health insurance plan, employers who establish an HRA can provide additional benefits and reduce their costs by increasing their deductibles and covering their employees likely out of pocket expenses with an HRA. For those employers who cannot afford group health insurance premiums, they can now provide a valuable tax favored health benefit for their employees by establishing an HRA

Benefits of an HRA

• Cost Savings


• Expand Benefits


• Flexibility


• Predictable Costs


• Separate Employee Classifications


• Tax Advantage

By establishing an HRA Arizona employers can have an effective means to manage the monthly costs associated with any Arizona group health insurance plan and make their premiums affordable.

Arizona Employers can now Create a Benefit Package on a Shoe String Budget

Arizona small businesses are feeling the crunch of the current economy and our national health care crisis. Many employers are unable to help their employees with a company health plan because of the soaring costs. This creates its own economic crisis because, without a viable benefit package, recruiting and retention creates a personnel problem. How can a small business create a benefit package on a shoe string budget?

Recent changes in Arizona law have created the opportunity for small business owners to offer a full blown benefit package to their employees without having to contribute financially.

The problem with group coverage is that it has become very expensive or even prohibitive for the average small business owner. They want to help their employees, but can they keep their doors open and take care of their employees' health care needs at the same time? The answer seems to be no for about 40 percent of Arizona residents whose employer does not offer any health plan at all.

Another big problem with traditional group health plans is portability. Because group plans are not portable, when an employee leaves a company they can not take the plan with them. They can opt to go on COBRA when they leave but for anyone one who has had the misfortune of accepting this coverage it is hugely expensive and ends in only 18 months.

Additionally, managing a traditional group health insurance plan is time consuming for the small business owners. Not only do they have the burden of their portion of the premium, they must become their own benefits coordinator or at an additional expense, hire an H.R. person.

The answer to these and many other group insurance problems is voluntary benefits.

Voluntary benefits are a total paradigm shift in the human resource equation. A total voluntary benefits package lifts the financial and management burden from the employer.

All the owner is required to do is to payroll deduct the insurance premium of the employee each month and remit one consolidated payment to the insurance company.

The employee still enjoys the benefits of the coverage and the advantage of payroll deduction. The insurance agent becomes the benefits coordinator and assists both the employees and the employer with their respective health benefits needs.

It is a solution for those small businesses that can not offer benefits to their employees because the costs are prohibitive.