{"id":6595,"date":"2019-04-01T05:10:29","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T09:10:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peakinsuranceadvisors.com\/?p=6595"},"modified":"2019-04-02T11:34:41","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T15:34:41","slug":"how-to-purchase-small-business-health-insurance-in-ny","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peakinsuranceadvisors.com\/how-to-purchase-small-business-health-insurance-in-ny\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Purchase Small Business Health Insurance in NY"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
At first you might be confused about how to purchase small business health insurance in NY.<\/a>\u00a0 Fortunately, there is help for business owners who wish to offer or manage health insurance benefits for their employees. First, lets go thru some requirements for eligibility and then we will delve into how to purchase a plan for your small business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Businesses in NY who employee between 1-100 full time equivalent (FTE) employees fall into the definition of a small business in New York. Any business with more than 100 FTE employees is eligible for the large group market.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Businesses whose workforce includes 1099 employees have the option to either include or exclude these workers in their calculations for coverage and eligibility.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n There are limitations on businesses that have the owner or the owner\u2019s spouse as the only enrollees on the group health plan. \u00a0<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Yes, all carriers require you to work at least 20 hours per week in order to be considered eligible for group health insurance. Small businesses have the right to increase those hourly requirements as well, anywhere from 20-40 hours per week in fact.\u00a0 This is helpful to the employer as they can determine what they can afford to offer in benefits for a certain hourly commitment by the employee.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n We already discussed that in order to be eligible, employees must work at least 20 or possibly more hours in order to qualify for coverage. But what if you only want to offer coverage to those who are in management let\u2019s say? The answer is you can. Most carriers allow for a small business owner to CLASS OUT a section of employees that the business wishes to offer coverage to. The \u2018class\u2019 of coverage must not be discriminatory. For example, you can offer coverage only to salaried workers, or to management employees only. You could not for example offer coverage only to those under or over a certain age.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Now that you know what size companies are eligible, who in the company is eligible, and how many hours are required to work, it is time to shop for a plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n While we might be a bit biased, using the services of a health insurance broker is the best way to shop for a small group health insurance plan for your business.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Why you ask? For starters, licensed health insurance brokers<\/a> are free to use. That\u2019s right, in NY health insurance rates are the same for a small business whether you deal directly with the insurance company, or whether you use the services of a broker! The carriers pay the brokers to do the work that they would usually have to do, such as enrollments, terminations, billing questions, and annual renewals as examples.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Health Insurance brokers specialize in working with both carriers and employers, basically acting as the liaison between the two. Brokers know the ins and outs and can help tailor a plan that includes providers that the employees and business owner are already using.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWho Qualifies for Small Group Health Insurance in NY?<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Are there minimum hours required for an employee to work to be eligible for coverage?<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Do I need to offer coverage to all employees, or can I offer only to a class of employees?<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
How to shop for and purchase a small business health insurance plan?<\/strong><\/h4>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n