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[laura d.]

I own a small retail store in CT and just received notice that my health insurance (for my family as well as my employees) went up by 23% (!). Now I'm trying to research online what the best options are in terms of affordability and coverage. I looked into HSA but am afraid that my employees might not be able to pay the high deductible out of pocket. I also wonder if getting individual health insurance (not via the business) would work if I pay a portion for each of my employees and if those tend to be less expensive. I pay 100% for my employees now and partly for their family members and would like to continue doing that but the prices are just getting ridiculous. If anyone has any suggestions I really appreciate it. Sadly, I am not internet savvy so shopping online has proven to be hard and insurance jargon just seems like a foreign language to me... :)Thank you,

[canes77]

Check with your local chamber of commerce and others in your general area. An organization I used to work with got their health insurance at the rates large groups get (cheaper for each individual) through a chamber of commerce in a nearby town (3 hrs away). The organization had to join that chamber of commerce, but being in a different town and county wasn't a problem.

[s1runner]

Wow, that's a tough situation to get out of.  What I'd recommend is getting in touch with the city and find out what kind of aid they give to small businesses that can help pay down that cost.  Many cities and states have great programs to help businesses like yours stay afloat and profit.

[queen]

I'm in California and I have a 125 plan for my company through Blue Cross. I pay $100 of the premium for my employees ($200 for management). We have a young demographic so most of them can get a health plan for around $100 per month. My family plan costs me $375 per month, which I think is very reasonable. (I was paying $2,500 per month before!)I think you're very generous to pay 100% if your employees' premiums, but with costs going up, it may no longer be feasible to do that. A lot of employers are having to shift more of the burden onto their employees.Hope this helps!

[Dean]

I like the HSA option.  You could always pay a part or all of the deductible for your employees.  If that doesn't work call your current insurer and tell them you want a cheaper insurance.  You can go with an HMO or higher deductible or higher copays.  There are lots of ways to reduce your premium and they should be willing to help.  Start by asking for a higher deductible and copay and see where that gets you, or tell them what your target premium is and ask them to customize it for you.

[kaiser22]

switching everyone to individual health insurance is one options. the problem with that option is that if you have one of the employees not qualify for individual health insurance then that employee can sue you for discrinination. if you offer bebefits to one person you must offer that same benefits to everyone else. law does not care if one of your employees does not qualify medicaly.

[smallbiz101]

individual health insurance plans will be about half of the cost of a group plan with similar benefits.

what you want to do as an employer is to still offer health benefits to your employees (and receive the tax deduction for doing so) yet lower your premium costs (and your employees premiums costs) substantially.

what you will want to do is establish a medical reimbursement plan. this should allow you to accomplish your goals. any cpa or qualified health insurance agent with some experience will be able to help you with this. here is some more information on medical reimbursement plans and health insurance in general:
Health Net Insurance