Group Health

Group health insurance is a single policy issued to a group of people, offering uniform healthcare benefits to all members. In most cases, these policies are purchased by employers and offered to eligible employees and their families as part of an employee benefits package. Enrolling in group health insurance generally costs participants less than what they would pay for an individual healthcare policy for two main reasons:

1. The risk is spread over the whole group, as opposed to just one individual.

2. Many employers pay a portion of employees’ premiums.

For employees, the benefits of group health insurance include the reduced price of healthcare and the ease of enrolling through their employer. For employers, the benefits range from attracting quality workers to the tax credits they can receive.

Large businesses with 50 or more employees are now required to offer group health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are not required to offer coverage, but they can qualify for tax credits to help offset the cost if they choose to offer healthcare and pay for at least half of each employee’s premium.