In Maryland it is not just group health insurance premiums that are rising. A new regulation took effect on June 1st for Maryland small businesses that increase’s their stop-loss on self-funded employer sponsored insurance plans. Small businesses under 50 employees do not have to provide health insurance for their employees, but many still do.
A self-funded plan allows a company to offer their employees benefits without having the larger expense of a traditional group insurance plan. Although, the new regulation raises the amount an employer must pay towards an individual’s health claim from $10,000 to $22,500 before the stop-loss insurance kicks in. With this regulation Maryland is potentially taking away an option for small business to provide cost effective benefits for their employees. This is why defined contribution plans are gaining traction in the marketplace and why we love working with Small Businesses.
Defined contribution plans allow employers to provide a fixed cost health benefit for employees and allow employees to have freedom of choice when selecting their health plan vs. the one size fits all group insurance approach. This enables small business that desire to provide health benefits for their employees, even though it’s not mandatory, to do so cost effectively. As a small business under fifty employees do you provide health benefits? Read the full article on BizJournals