Practice owners who are shopping for health insurance during Open Enrollment, between November 1st and December 15th, can consider ways to control the cost of their health insurance. Some may think that increasing the deductible – the amount each employee would need to pay before the insurance company begins to pay benefits – is the way to offset a premium increase. However, it may be worth considering another way to manage costs so benefits can be maintained or made more affordable to the practice.
We want to inform about a lesser-known option practice owners can employ to keep the cost of their health insurance within budget. This entails taking advantage of special waivers to the criteria a practice needs to meet to qualify for group health insurance. Usually, to qualify as a group, 75% of eligible uninsured employees need to participate and the practice needs to contribute 50% of the premium for each participant. During Open Enrollment, these criteria will not need to be met to qualify for a group plan.
These waivers can be used by practices to achieve different goals:
There is another cost that comes with a group health insurance plan. This is the cost associated with the time you and your staff spend on administering the plan - time spent enrolling the staff and their dependents, making sure participants receive temporary ID cards and coverage information, dealing with staff updates and changes during the year and billing, customer service and claim issues. That’s time away from treating patients and running the practice. TMA Insurance Trust advises that a professional agent supports a practice best by relieving medical practices from much of the administrative burden.
To find out more about these limited-time waivers and group benefit options, TMA Insurance Trust advisors can be contacted toll free 1-800-880-8181 Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 5:30 CST.
For over 60 years, TMA Insurance Trust advisors have been serving Texas physicians, their families and staff. TMA Insurance Trust prides itself on offering unbiased information and strategies to members, along with exclusive group rates on a range of the highest-rated plans in the industry.