In this article, you will learn the following things about small business health insurance plans:
- Overall winner: Blue Cross and Blue Shield are two insurance companies.
- Kaiser Permanente is the best alternative for low-cost plans.
- UnitedHealthcare is the most transparent.
- Humana has the best customer service.
- Aetna is the best health insurance company (CVS Health)
Small business health insurance plans include Blue Cross Blue Shield, UnitedHealthcare, and Aetna. The decision to provide health insurance to your employees as a small business owner is personal. If your company has less than 50 employees, you are not legally required to offer group health insurance. However, you may wish to use it to hire and retain employees as well as claim tax benefits for your company. Long-term medical insurance offers some benefits that you can check.
The ideal group health insurance plan for your employees is determined by your budget as well as considerations such as the number of employees, their age, and where they live. You can buy health insurance directly from an insurance provider through the federal government’s Small Business Health Insurance Options marketplace or an insurance broker. Here are the list of some best health insurance companies in the market for you to a review.
Overall winner: Blue Cross and Blue Shield are two insurance companies.
Pros:
- It’s the country’s largest provider network.
Cons:
- Limited plan details are provided online; sales representatives must be contacted.
Blue Cross is one of our favorite brands. Blue Shield is a nationwide alliance of 35 independently owned and runs insurance firms. The group has access to 93 percent of doctors and 96 percent of hospitals in the United States. This means that your employees should be able to find in-network doctors wherever in the country.
Preferred provider organizations, health maintenance organizations, high-deductible small business health insurance plans, as well as group dentistry, and vision plans are all available to your employees through Blue Cross Blue Shield. The organization receives good grades in J.D. Power’s 2021 Commercial Member Health Plan Study, which measures member satisfaction. Blue Cross Blue Shield takes first place in eight of the United States’ areas.
On the website of the National Committee for Quality Assurance in 2019, the average rating for Blue Cross Blue Shield plans was 3.5 out of 5. The NCQA assigns scores to plans based on clinical quality and member satisfaction.
Kaiser Permanente is the best alternative for low-cost plans.
Pros:
- HMO plans with low premiums.
- Online comparisons of small business health insurance plans are available.
Cons:
- California, Hawaii, Maryland, Colorado, Georgia, Oregon, Virginia, Washington, and D.C. are the only states where it is available.
Why we like it: Kaiser Permanente is only accessible in a few states, but according to the J.D. Power survey, it is highly regarded in those places. It also has a 4.3 average rating on the NCQA website. Kaiser is well known for its HMO plans, which are relatively inexpensive because patients must generally see providers within a narrow network. As a small business owner, you may readily access all of Kaiser’s group products on its website, including pricing information.
UnitedHealthcare is the most transparent.
Pros:
- A small business health insurance plan comparison tool is available online.
- It’s legal in all 50 states.
Cons:
- It does not rank among the top insurers in J.D. Power’s Commercial Member Health Plan Study.
Why we like it: UnitedHealthcare is the nation’s largest insurance provider based on market share, covering more than 1.3 million doctors and care providers and 6,500 hospitals. It stands out from the competition because of its small business health insurance plan comparison tool. On UnitedHealthcare’s website, you can easily enter some basic information about your company and compare plan rates and features. The NCQA rating for the company is 3.4 on average.
Humana has the best customer service.
Pros:
- Plan information is available online.
- It’s legal in all 50 states.
Cons:
- The provider network is smaller than that of other insurers.
Why we like it: According to the J.D. Power research, Humana has excellent customer service. Newsweek’s annual Best Customer Service survey classified the company’s customer service as the best in the health insurance category two years in a row, in 2019 and 2020. The NCQA gave its plans a 3.4 rating on average. Humana offers five different small business health insurance plans, each with its own set of benefits and advantages of health insurance.
Aetna is the best health insurance company (CVS Health)
Pros:
- A large provider network.
Cons:
- Online information on the plan is limited.
Why we like it: Aetna provides a variety of pre-tax health spending funds, such as health savings accounts and flexible savings accounts, in addition to health and retirement reimbursement choices. (Please note that Aetna’s HSA option is only available with high-deductible health plans.) Aetna has a 3.3 NCQA rating, according to J.D. Power’s Commercial Member Health Plan Study.
You can save money on small business health insurance plans by choosing your plan from above-mentioned providers.