If you employ from two to fifty employees, you fall under HIPAA legislation. This legislation was passed in July of 1997 and makes health insurance more accessible to all small businesses. The new law guarantees insurance coverage for all small businesses. In fact, all insurers throughout the nation must offer their most popular plans to all small groups regardless of medical conditions. If your group had prior medical coverage, there will be no preexisting condition limitations. Most HMO plans cover preexisting conditions immediately.

If you have a small business and want a group plan, health insurers can require that you comply with two key underwriting criteria. As an employer you must pay a portion of the single employee premium, usually 50% . Also, you must have a minimum of 75% of all eligible employees participate on the insurance plan - excluding those who have spousal, military or other coverage. You can, however, have a manager or salaried employee only plans for businesses that have a lot of employee turnover, e.g. restaurants, quick lubes, landscaping, etc. As you review health plans, you need to keep these simple criteria in mind.

If you would like a quote on your small business, please complete the Group Data and Census Sheet.