The Guide

Family Health Insurance

Advantages of a Group Health Plan for Your Family

Employer Paid

The best thing about group health insurance is that it is usually paid for, in part or in full, by your employer. Your employer may even pay for a portion of the premium for any family member that you wish to add to your policy, but this is becoming less common as the cost of health insurance continues to climb. Your employer hopes that by offering and paying for your health care benefits, you will remain loyal to the company and be appreciative of their generosity. You should consider employer-paid health insurance as an income bonus, even though you are not required to pay income taxes on the value of this benefit.

Guaranteed Issue

Under a group health plan, you and your family members may not be denied enrollment on the plan because of a pre-existing medical condition. By law, the insurance companies are required to accept all eligible employees and their dependents under a group plan, regardless of their current or past health status.

Simplified Enrollment

The enrollment application required from each employee by the insurance company is short and simple to complete. You merely provide the insurance company with your personal information and a list of the family members that you want to include on your policy. Personal information usually includes name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number and your personal physician's contact information. If more than one plan is offered under your employer's group policy, you will need to choose which plan you are accepting. If you are enrolling in an HMO plan, you will also need to select a primary care physician for each family member at time of enrollment.

Customized Plan Designs

This benefit is often limited to larger groups of 100 or more employees. For larger groups, the insurance company may be willing to work closely with the employer to customize a health plan that best meets the needs of the company, the employees and the dependent family members. Customized plans may include benefits that are not typically found under individual health plans or group plans offered to smaller size companies. Supplemental benefits, such as maternity coverage, infertility treatments, etc. can be offered by the employer on a customized group health plan.

Annual Rate Guarantees

The insurance company can only increase the rates to your employer once per year. This occurs during the annual open enrollment and your employer is given the chance to decide if he accepts these rate increases or decides to compare the new rates against other insurance companies. If you have family members insured under your group health plan, and you are paying a portion of their premium, you can be assured that there will be no surprise rate increases outside of this annual review.

Note: The information and advice provided in this Guide to Family Health Insurance may not provide the best advice for every situation. The best options for your family's medical insurance may be unique and require the advice of a local advisor. We highly recommend that you consult with more than one insurance broker in your state to gather and compare alternative opinions. The owners of HealthInsuranceFinders.com are not responsible for any decisions you make in regards to your family's health insurance through the information provided in this guide.