Group Health Insurance

UPDATE: Here is an online calculator to help small employers see how much they may save with the federal government’s 35% tax credit for small group health insurance plans. http://www.nfib.com/issues-elections/healthcare/credit-calculator

Arizona Group Health Insurance:

Welcome to Michael Higgins Insurance. For more than 30 years we have been offering Arizona small businesses with individual, family, and group health insurance.

As an Arizona business owner you know that offering health insurance to your employees is a definite plus when trying to attract top employees. At Higgins Companies, we understand that certain benefits, such as attractive group health insurance, enlarge the pool of qualified applicants for positions at your business.

At the same time, for the owner of a small business, affordable Arizona health insurance premiums may represent a sizable portion of their monthly business expenses. Michael Higgins Insurance believes that by offering affordable, reputable Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Arizona insurance, your company will gain an invaluable edge over competitors.

Arizona small business owners, defined as an employer who has at least two employees, but not more than 50 eligible employees, are not required to offer group health insurance. However, offering group health insurance is important if you want to attract and retain good employees. There are also state and federal tax rebates available for qualified individuals and companies. When small businesses offer group health insurance, both state and federal rules and regulations apply, as well as any requirements imposed by the individual insurance companies.

Group Health Insurance For Small Businesses

There was a time when purchasing a small group health insurance policy was less expensive than purchasing individual policies for each of the employees. Those days are gone unfortunately, and have been for quite a few years. Yet, the belief still holds today that group health insurance is less expensive than individual insurance policies. Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Arizona (BCBSAZ) provides employer groups with many flexible group health insurance plans including consumer-directed health plans, PPO, PPO upgrade options, HMO, dual option (PPO and HMO), Blue Cross AZ. dental insurance, and dental plans from TDAHP, (Total Dental Administrators Health Plan, Inc.). With so many choices Michael Higgins Insurance believes you will find a plan that can accommodate your budget.

One of the main reasons why an employer with a small company would buy group health insurance is if there are serious pre-existing conditions with a number of employees within the group that must be covered. Individual plans offer many of the same benefits as the larger health insurance plans, are considerably less expensive, and use the same network of doctors, but on individual plans the insurance company can exclude certain pre-existing conditions, or deny coverage outright. Not so on group health insurance plans. Insurance companies in Arizona will offer coverage in these situations, but may limit benefits for a period of time if the group is not currently insured.

Individual health insurance plans are certainly worth looking into though, with monthly premiums being about half the cost of group plans. Read more about individual plans here, http://higginscompanies.com/health-insurance/individual-health-insurance/.

Larger groups with four or more employees should consider group health insurance in my opinion. Better yet, get a group quote and compare the rates to the individual/family rates posted on this website, (Free Online Quote link located on the upper left.) Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Arizona offers group health insurance to groups of two or more. When considering a higher deductible PPO plan that still covers office visits, maternity, medications, urgent care, and annual physicals, the monthly premium can be very reasonable. Also consider an HSA, (Health Savings Account,) qualified plan. An HSA plan would be my first choice actually. Read more about HSA’s here, http://higginscompanies.com/health-insurance/health-savings-plan/.

Prescott, Flagstaff or Tucson small businesses with two or more employees may also consider coverage on a group health insurance plan, all towns and cities within the state qualify. The number of employees you are looking to cover will usually determine the type of group health insurance plan to purchase.

Blue Cross® Blue Shield® of Arizona (BCBSAZ) provides businesses operating within the Phoenix, Tucson and Flagstaff areas the same flexible group health insurance plans for any small business within Arizona.

For instance: The BluePreferred Saver/PPO Upgrade options lets employers offer plans with all the advantages of BluePreferred: extensive provider networks and the freedom to choose providers within or outside of the network. The employer selects which plan combination to offer. Then each employee has the option to choose between the BluePreferred Saver — a lower premium, high-deductible plan that can be used in conjunction with a Health Savings Account (HSA) — or a lower deductible BluePreferred plan if that better suites their needs.

The premiums for almost all insurance policies, group or individual, include a commission to pay agents for selling and servicing these policies. You do not pay an extra fee to a medical health insurance agent above your group policy amount. You will pay this included commission charge regardless of whether you buy directly from the insurance company or from an independent insurance agent. By having a Broker of Record, your business has a specific individual who represents your company, helps solve problems that may develop, keeps you apprised of current group insurance pricing, benefit changes, and answers any questions regarding other issues that might affect your group policy. If you purchase directly from the insurance company, you will likely not have any of these extra services.

If you’re shopping for group health insurance or are considering changing plans, please contact Michael Higgins Insurance. As your Broker of Record Michael Higgins will strive to give you the best coverage and the most options, at the most affordable rate.

To obtain a free quote please call Mike Higgins, days or evenings, seven days a week, at 602.405.8769, or email your company’s information and census to Mike Higgins and a quote will be generated usually within two business days. E-Mail: info@higginscompanies.com.

We look forward to hearing from you.

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