Group health insurance refers to employer sponsored and employer based health insurance. Usually an employee has a period of time that they must work at a company before qualifying to be covered under group health insurance. Some group plans offer coverage to all employees while the majority of businesses offer the plan only to full time employees. Additionally, the percentage that the employer pays towards each employees plan can vary from business to business. Some employers decide that they will pay 50% of each employee’s monthly health insurance premium. As an example, if an employee had a $200 per month premium, the employer would pay $100 per month while the employee would have the remaining $100 deducted from their paycheck.
Another consideration employers make when setting up their company’s group plan is whether or not the group coverage will be extended to employee’s spouses and children. Although most businesses will make the coverage available to spouses and employee’s children, most employers will only contribute towards their employee’s premium and require the employee to pay 100% of their family’s premium.
Group Health Insurance is broken into two categories; Small Group, which covers groups of 2-50 employees and large group which covers 51 or more employees. In California, small group plans have some big advantages. One of the advantages of a small group plan in California is the guaranteed issue feature. “Guaranteed issue” means the carrier providing the group plan must accept and cover all group applicants even if the applicant has pre-existing health conditions (spelled out in California law AB 1672). Another advantage with small group plans under California law is that when applying for coverage, the carrier cannot change the rates more than 10% up or 10% down because of the health of the employees that make up the group. The limited 10% is called the Risk Adjustment Factor (RAF). The size of the group can affect the RAF. The larger the group the more likely the group is to have a lower RAF. Many carriers will extend a RAF guarantee for a period of time.
Although our site is extremely powerful and detailed, it is very user friendly and easy to use. With just a couple of clicks you will have access to all of the medical plans that are available to you. Your quotes are based primarily and your age and zip code. After comparing the details of each plan and the monthly premiums (prices), you will have the choice of applying online. We are also available to answer any questions you may have before applying or to assist you in filling out the application. Call us at 1-800-771-7758 and ask for a Group Insurance Specialist. Our friendly and cheerful representatives are always pleased to help you.