Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Small Employers Seek Texas Health Insurance

By Jordan FeRoss

For purposes of definition of health insurance in Texas, there is a difference between small employers and large employers according to state and federal mandates. For a small employer to be called just that, they will have to have no more than 50 employees that work full-time (actually 2 to 50 full-time employees). These employees that are defined as full-time must work at least 30 hours or more each week in order to qualify. That does not include temporary workers or seasonal workers.

Small employers qualify for some extra legal protection under state and federal laws. This includes dictating how much insurance companies can charge them and what type of coverage must be extended to them. In order for these smaller companies to benefit from the special health insurance statutes in Texas they do have to meet certain eligibility requirements. The total number of employees is not as important as how many employees are eligible for, or will be participating in the insurance program. The law requires that all eligible employees have health insurance offered to them 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.

When a small business has a small number of employees participating in a group health insurance plan in Texas, they are usually all required to have the exact same plan. Larger companies can offer employees choices as far as co-pays and deductibles, but the smaller business may have to require everyone to be on the exact same plan.

However, whether it's a small employer or a large one, it is against the law to force a new employee to get health insurance in Texas in order to stay employed there. It is also against the law to single out any employee that can get health care coverage due to how old they are, medical history status or pre-existing conditions that they may have.

The laws regarding health insurance for small businesses are detailed and complex. Health insurance in Texas must be offered to all eligible employees as dictated by the law. Because employees covered by health insurance are healthier and less financially stressed, employers should think of health insurance in Texas as an investment in their company's fiscal health. - 16492

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