Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Texas Health Insurance For Small Employers

By Jordan FeRoss

When it comes to defining health insurance in Texas, the state and federal mandates that determine what a "small business" or a "large business" are important especially when it comes to setting insurance rates. According to these definitions a small employer may not have greater than 50 full-time employees. The government describes a full-time employee as one that works at least 30 hours per week. Seasonal or temporary employees are not included in these numbers.

With small employers, they are protected by some legal statutes. Some of them include coverage levels and increases in insurance rates. The thing with small employers is that with the health insurance law in Texas, they have to have the right amount of employees that are eligible for health insurance. It is not based on the number of total employees per say. With health insurance for small employers, it is mandatory that those eligible are offered health insurance coverage for themselves and their immediate families.

A health insurance carrier can mandate that at least three fourths of eligible employees from a small employer seek to get health coverage. With certain carriers, this can be part of how they will get their health care plan. Depending on the number of eligible employees, the law can mandate that not everyone has to participate. This can apply to health insurance in Texas.

In some cases where there are very few employees, an insurance company may require that 100% of the employees participate in order to qualify for group coverage rates. If there just aren't enough people, they may each have to purchase individual or family policies at the higher premium. Health insurance in Texas can be expensive depending on the individual circumstances, but the best case scenario is having enough people participate to qualify for the group rates so that everyone can save as much money as possible.

Fewer employees at a small company also means fewer choices in the type of coverage for employee health insurance in Texas. To keep their costs down, insurers will often require everyone be covered by the same plan rather than offer multiple levels of coverage and allowing employees to choose. This is unlike larger companies who offer more options to employees regarding insurance plans.

Regardless of a company's size, it is never legal for an employer to coerce any employee into participating in health insurance in Texas. It is always the employee's choice and should not reflect negatively on that individual. And, no individual can be legally disqualified from any group plan or discriminated against because of their age, sex or any medical condition.

Small businesses need to be mindful of the laws regarding health insurance in Texas. They must be sure to offer the proper health insurance for their eligible employees under the law. Having healthy employees is better for the employer in the long run and paying for health insurance will benefit them as well as the employees. - 16459

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