With the new Affordable Care Act Employer Mandate, companies with 50 or more employees are obligated to offer group health benefits. However, many smaller medical practices are also opting to offer healthcare benefits for their staff. This could be due to recent compelling statistics that show a direct correlation between quality benefits and employee retention.

There have been a lot of changes in the healthcare industry over the past few years, and it’s expected to continue evolving. One of these changes is a move away from group coverage to individual health plans. These are a few common reasons why physicians may need individual health insurance coverage:

1. Their medical practice does not offer health insurance
2. They have started their own practice and do not need to offer group coverage yet
3. Group coverage does not fully meet their needs

Healthcare is one of the most expensive benefits you can offer employees. As a medical practice, employees often assume they will receive healthcare benefits.

However, health care comes at a cost. According to Kaiser Family Foundation survey, the average annual cost of a single premium per enrolled employee for employer-based health insurance in Texas is a total of $5,386, with an employer contribution of $4,251.

That’s a pretty sizable amount of money to be spending towards health insurance alone. So how can you spend less on health insurance, but still have quality coverage? By leveraging the benefits of HSA, HRA and FSA.

As a Texas physician, owning a medical practice not only offers the opportunity to help heal patients, but it also gives you a chance to run your own business. While owning a practice is both exciting and rewarding, it does come with a related set of challenges such as operating expenses. One of the greatest operating expenses your practice will endure is providing group insurance and/or health benefits for your employees.

On the mind of every Texas physician is the well-being of his or her family, especially regarding their health, health care and having the best coverage in place should it be needed. If you and your family are in need of health insurance but missed the open enrollment period window, which closed on January 1, 2016, know that not all hope is lost. You still have the opportunity to select a health insurance plan if you qualify under a series of life events. If one of these life events has occurred, you could enter a health insurance plan under a special enrollment period.