Saturday, January 24, 2009

Breaking Down Health Insurance Premiums For Business Owners

By Jordan FeRoss

For small business owners, there are multiple variables to consider when calculating the costs of health insurance benefits for employees. Small business health benefits are more directly affected by employee medical histories and age than larger companies and these factors have an impact on rates and deductibles for employee-insurance programs. Additional factors that affect the small business health insurance costs in Texas include gender and the company's industry.

Here's a breakdown of some of the components that could make a difference in the cost of health insurance in Texas:

Age: Older employees have a tendency to have more health problems and will cost an employer more. This is tough to swallow, especially since an employer can get punished for age discrimination, but the fact is that older employees cost more. Health insurance in Texas will cost more for older employees and this is usually true for other states as well.

Male and Female: Statistics show that younger females will have more medical costs than younger males. Part of that is because they will be in the childbearing stages. Eventually, as females get older, the medical costs tend to decrease. At that same time, health costs for males will increase. Since health insurance in Texas is on the rise every year, then expect more males to pay higher costs for medical coverage. One reason for this shift is because females tend to be younger while working in Corporate America. So it really depends on the demographics of the small business employers.

Participants in Health Care Plan: Health insurance carriers use the size of small employers to calculate rates for coverage. This is done in order to keep the administrative costs on the level with how many people are in that particular group. With small business employers, they prefer to purchase health insurance based on what their employees need. This will help the employees get benefits for any claims that they submit. If they should happen to increase in size, then they will have to adjust accordingly. Small business employers that use health insurance in Texas are faced with the same thing.

Area: The cost of health insurance in Texas can vary from county to county and even city to city. Cost of living, the number of accidents, crime rate and other safety factors can all play a role in the cost of health insurance for small business employers. Most often, the health insurance companies in Texas will use the zip code of the business when determining health insurance rates for that company.

Industry: The small business' industry is sometimes deemed more dangerous if its employees have a greater likelihood of being injured on the job. Chemical use and toxic materials handling are also considered because they can have a negative impact on an employee's health over a period of months or years. For health insurance in Texas, insurers examine the impact these factors have on a small business' employees and decide what to charge them. Because every business is different, their insurance premiums and coverage will vary based on the risk to their employees.

There are many considerations for both the small business owner and its prospective employees must assess them all carefully as they look for the most affordable health insurance in Texas that offers the best coverage to all employees.

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