The health insurance industry is undoubtedly challenging, but at least we’ve got choices. In this post we’re going to explore the advantages and disadvantages of group health insurance.
Group Health Insurance Advantages
Group health monthly premiums are sponsored by the employer. Usually, an employer should add at least 50% of the “employee only” premiums. So, if you’re the employee, you are able to obtain a richer health policy for fewer premiums than you’d shell out in the individual health marketplace.
On the other hand, if you are considering online insurance providers, you have further choices. For example, those in Australia might want to check the benefits of health insurance funds iSelect provides.
In any case, the cost to include your children in your employer’s plan, could be expensive. In this particular scenario, you may need to put them on some individual health plan.
Group health monthly premiums for small families are the same as for large families; however, in the individual marketplace, you have to pay separate premiums for each member of the family. For those with large families, you may be able to find a better deal by incorporating your family members in your employer’s plan. As with every insurance coverage change though, do not make any changes without conferring with a seasoned insurance consultant in your area.
Group insurance coverage in the majority of states is guaranteed – which means that you cannot be rejected because of pre-existing health problems. This is actually a good thing if you or a member of your family has a health issue that keeps you from getting qualified for any individual plan. However, this is actually a double-edged sword.
Although being guaranteed is usually a big advantage for people with pre-existing health conditions, it does come at a specific price tag. This feature alone is the reason for the majority of the inequality between individual and group insurance costs. Yes, that’s right – in most states in the USA, individual health rates are nearly always less costly than group health rates. Which brings us to:
Group Health Insurance Disadvantages
Group health insurance could be costlier than individual medical health insurance. ln fact, if you do not factor in the particular employer’s contribution towards monthly premiums, then individual plans are nearly always less expensive than group plans. On the other hand, as we mentioned earlier, not everyone can easily meet the requirements for an individual plan.
How are you affected if your employment is ended (by you or your employer)? Certainly, you will certainly have some benefit continuation legal rights (through COBRA or state continuation plans), but most of these benefits can be costly and the particular term-limited. Therefore, at some point, you either need to secure another employment with benefits, an individual health plan (assuming you’re insurable), or become a member of a federal government health insurance program without being insured (if you’re not insurable).
