Group Health Insurance Plans

Group Health Insurance Plans

Group Health InsuranceGroup health insurance plans are employer-sponsored
plans that offer you multiple advantages.

Making decisions about health insurance probably isn’t at the top of your
list of favorite things to do. However, health insurance is an important
part of your finances and medical care, so you want to make an educated
choice about which plan to enroll in. If you are offered group health insurance through your employer, you can take advantage of several
benefits.

What Are Group Health Plans?

Group health insurance plans are employer-based plans that offer coverage
to a pool of employees. In contrast, an individual plan is purchased to
cover only one person or family. The difference between how group and
individual plans are designed affects your costs.

Why Choose a Group Health Plan?

Group health insurance plans hold several advantages over individually
purchased health insurance, including lower costs and convenience.

Shared risk. Because a group plan covers
multiple people, the risk is spread out over what is likely a fairly
healthy group of participants. This helps keep your premium rates lower
than individual plans whose rates are based on individual risk.

Shared costs. With group coverage, your monthly
premium is even lower because the cost is shared between you and your
employer. Employers will pay varying percentages of coverage, but whatever
amount they choose, it reduces the amount you owe. Depending on your
employer’s benefits, you may be responsible for the full cost of the
premium for your enrolled family members, or your company may choose to
contribute to those premiums as well.

Tax advantages. If you pay health insurance
premiums for an employer-sponsored group health plan, you can pay your
premium with pre-tax dollars, which means you are not taxed on the money
that is spent on your premium. This lowers your taxable income, giving you
another financial benefit from group health coverage. If you are enrolled
in an individual health plan, your premium will typically be paid with
taxed dollars.

Easy enrollment. A huge advantage of group
health coverage through your employer is the ease of enrolling and paying.
Your employer will handle the administrative burden of facilitating
coverage, and typically your premiums will be automatically deducted from
your paychecks.

COBRA. Under certain circumstances, such as
voluntary or involuntary job loss, you have the option to keep your group
insurance plan for a certain length of time under the Consolidated Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA). You will have to pay more for the
premium because your employer is no longer paying a share of the cost, but
it is an option available to you while you work on acquiring new medical
coverage after a job loss or other qualifying circumstance. For more
information on COBRA, visit

www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/cobra.htm

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ABM Insurance & Benefits is your source for Group Health Insurance.  Contact us today for your free quote! 281-448-3040