One Employee Health Plan Not Working? Consider Multiple Options

Employers today have to work harder to attract and retain good quality employees. One of the best ways to do this is to offer group health insurance plans that appeal to your pool of candidates and employees. But not every business can offer the top tier of benefits to everyone. 

One solution you may not have learned about is to offer different plans to different groups of employees. What should you know about this option? And how can it help you get better employees? Here are four key things to know.

1. Tiers Can Save Your Budget

Budget constraints are one of the biggest obstacles for small businesses that want to offer health insurance. You want to—and employees may expect you to—offer robust health plans that employees can afford.

But if you can't cover everyone with a high-quality plan, can you cover some of your employees? Perhaps other employee groups can be offered lower-cost options. Tailoring your plans could save enough to help you afford this benefit. 

2. Tiers and Choices Cannot Be Discriminatory

However you choose to group employees for different insurance options, do not use discriminatory patterns. You cannot offer certain plans only to people based on protected classes. This includes anything based on race, ethnicity, gender, marital status, sexual orientation, age, disability, or sex. 

3. Tiers May Be Made for Groups of Employees

How should you group employees? Look at systems that are logically based on your particular budget and the workforce you employ.

You might offer a low-cost plan to new hires, for instance, and create a group with more seniority for a full plan. Part-time workers may be offered different plans than full-time workers. You could group employees based on whether they work in the office or remotely. Or you might designate plans based on job titles. The goal is to balance savings with what will motivate everyone. 

4. Tiers Must Not Violate State Law

Check with state law regarding group health plans before making a new plan. While the federal labor laws generally don't prohibit most differentiation of insurance plan benefits, some states may do so. This is why it's important to choose a system by working with a health insurance agent experienced in your business's and your employees' states of residence. 

Where to Start

Could adopting a system of different health insurance options for different groups help you provide these benefits at a cost affordable to both you and the employee? If so, start by learning how this can work in consultation with a health insurance agent in your area today.