Group Health Insurance

Group Health Insurance

Written by Nancy Sinatra

Group health insurance is insurance that is purchased by your employer. This insurance is then offered to employees that work within the company and many times to the employee’s families but not all the time. This is how many of the people in America get their group health insurance. If it is not through your employer it is through the employer of someone within your family. What many do not realize is that group health insurance is offered differently for different types of employees. And though there are laws determine what can and cannot be done by different employers it varies from state to state. One of the main lures of many employers is to have good group health insurance. This helps bring employees through the door and keep them. Many employees who are not overly happy with their jobs think twice about leaving because they do not want to lose the group health insurance that is helping to take care of their families. For many years’ business owners’ especially small business owners have been looking and asking for more affordable group health insurance. Now finally the larger insurance companies are beginning to offer it to companies including the smaller ones. Here’s a list of the some of the plans offered as group health insurance: Cafeteria plans-this type of plan offers benefits but does not actually tell what the benefits are. There is a menu of benefits offered and the employees are allowed to choose what they will need that will best fit their needs. The price for this plan is taken right out of the employee’s paycheck before taxes so it actually costs them less. Managed care- this is usually the most affordable type of group health insurance. The employee gets to choose a primary care Dr. from within a network. If a specialist is needed then the Dr. needs to give a referral to the specialist so that the insurance company will cover it. This keeps the costs down for everyone. Health savings account- this is a newer option given to employees. These are bank accounts set up for the employees that are tax-advantaged that help the employees pay for and keep health insurance. Some but not all employers will add funds to these accounts. Many of today’s employers offer group health insurance. With today’s economy this is not something to be taken for granted. Many individuals are losing their jobs and their insurance coverage right along with it. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is conducting studies and reporting that the amount of uninsured Americans is shooting up drastically. More than 48 million Americans are without health insurance today and the number is growing. Although many people do not like the job they are employed at the group health insurance coverage is enough to keep them at the place of employment. On Friday, March 27, 2009 it was reported by Reuters that support grew for the idea that all Americans will be required to get some type of health insurance plan. This is all part of the proposed health care overhaul that is being planned. If this does go through as planned this would reduce the price of healthcare for every one. One of the major fights at the moment is that the people who do have group health insurance are now paying for those who do not. This in turn makes all the prices higher for everyone. At this point in time there is no mandate that everyone within the United States has to have medical insurance. President Barack Obama has put the healthcare issue as one of the first things he will be dealing with in his presidency. If this reform does go though the insurance agencies are stating that they will not have to be charging such high premiums and the “pre-existing” clause could be taken out of the insurance applications. At this point in time if there is a pre-existing condition many of the insurance companies will not cover an employee. For many it is not the fact that they do not want group health insurance or any type of health insurance for that matter. It’s the fact that they cannot afford it. With the unemployment rate being so high many are losing their jobs and those out of work are finding it harder and harder to get a job. For many they have to rely on the welfare system, which the taxpayers are helping to pay for. On January 15,2009 The House of Representatives approved an expansion of federal funding for the health coverage for children. The funds allocated are $33 billion. This will help insure an added 4 million children. This is some relief while parents are trying to acquire affordable group health insurance.

 

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