Friday, March 13, 2009

Texas Health Insurance Group Plans

By Jordan FeRoss

Group insurance plans are usually offered to employees by their employer as part of a benefits package. But, there are other groups that can get together for a group insurance plan as well, such as churches or professional organizations. Most often people with group health care insurance in Texas have an insurance plan sponsored by their employer or other association. Small businesses have different requirements and benefits than larger business when it comes to health insurance in Texas.

It is not mandatory that employers and other groups have to offer health care insurance in Texas. They don't have to put money aside to pay for premiums. However, there are some health care insurance companies that mandate some employers to pay at least half of the premiums for their employees.

There are multiple group plan options for health insurance in Texas. These include:

Small Employer - These health plans are used for businesses that have 50 or less employees that are qualified to get health insurance in Texas. The employees that qualify have to be working full-time and work at least or more than 30 hours a week. No other classifications (part-time, seasonal) are qualified for this plan. Also, the employee must not have additional health insurance elsewhere. There is usually an annual rate increase which comes with a cap of fifteen percent. By law, any employer or group in Texas that cancels one plan is responsible for putting their employees in another health care plan.

Large Employer - In the state of Texas, large employers usually use the HMO health plan. Because of that, state law says the HMO must include a POS (point-of-service) elective. With larger employers, they can offer health care insurance in Texas to executives and other employees. No employee should be denied a health care due to a pre-existing condition.

Self-Funded - Many of these types of plans are managed by ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act). These are favored by employers who choose to cover the entire cost of the health insurance coverage for their employees. These self-funded insurance plans are able to be used in a few different states and don't have to follow the insurance laws of that particular state. It is up to the U.S. Department of Labor to oversee this type of health insurance in Texas.

There are quite a few health plans provided by these larger companies that are self-funded. There aren't a lot of federal guidelines for these types of plans. These self-funded health insurance plans in Texas tend to provide excellent coverage in all areas and employees are satisfied overall with them.

Employers and groups that use self-funded health care insurance in Texas may use subcontractors as the administrator of their insurance plan. The subcontractors as also known as third-party administrators, or TPAs. In order to legally act as a TPA with health insurance in Texas, they must have a state license. So, depending on what size company you work for will determine what kind of health insurance coverage you will get. - 15246

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