Group Health Insurance Planning
Every year when health insurance policies renew, it seems like benefits decrease and premiums increase. For example, there are many differences between small group health insurance plans available in 2018 compared to 2019. One of the major benefit changes each year in Northern Nevada is Emergency Room coverage. 4 year ago, it was not uncommon to see health insurance small business plans with low Emergency Room copays on Silver and Gold plans. Nowadays, many insurance carriers do not offer Emergency Room copays at all. Other benefits like Specialist Visits, Physical Therapy, and Urgent Care benefits have steadily decreased.
To avoid these market trends, we recommend that you assess your options with an Early Renewal or enrollment in an Association health plan.
Early Renewal Option
If you already have a 2018 group health insurance plan, you can attempt an ‘early renewal’ with your current carrier. This will allow you to extend your 2018 plan for another 12 months. Even though your small group health insurance plan will experience a minor premium increase, you will be able to continue your current benefits for a longer term.
Early renewals in the 4th Quarter of 2018 should also have lower premiums compared to plans renewing in 2019. With deadlines quickly approaching, we recommend that you review this option ASAP. Not every broker knows about the ‘early renewal option’. If you need a health insurance broker to negotiate a small group health insurance early renewal, please give us a call today. Unlike other brokers, we do not charge any fees to our clients.
Association Plans
Another option will be to apply for the newly approved Association plans. Association plans are a collection of small employers with a common Association membership. Within this collection of small employers, insurance carriers can offer lower costing plans with large group style benefits. Depending on your eligibility, you may qualify for one of these Association plans effective December 1st or January 1st.
Compared to the standard Small Group market, these Association plans can save you thousands of dollars. There are a handful of different eligibility and underwriting requirements to become a part of an Association plan. You can learn more about this option on our website by reading our articles discussing Anthem’s Association plans and Prominence’s Association plans. We can create group health insurance quotes for every major carrier.
