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Friday, March 13, 2009

Group Texas Health Insurance Plans

By Jordan FeRoss

While the majority of group insurance coverage comes from employer-sponsored benefits programs, there are other organizations who offer group health insurance in Texas. Group insurance can also be offered by churches and professional organizations. And, when it comes to employer-sponsored insurance plans, small businesses and large businesses have different requirements regarding their group health plans and the coverage they offer.

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.

Here are a few descriptions of some Texas health insurance group plans:

Small Business - For companies with 50 or fewer full-time employees required to provide health insurance in Texas. To qualify, employees must work at least 30 hours per week. Part-time and temporary workers are not included in the staff counts but an employer may allow these employees to participate in the group plan with a higher premium. Talented employees are more likely to choose a smaller company if they like the group 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.

The majority of health plans for larger employers are self-funded. The Federal government doesn't have a lot of requirements for this particular plan. However, these plans may offer a wider range of coverage than what we used to. This particular health care insurance in Texas also provides health coverage all across the board.

Because it is part of a federal program, self-funded health insurance plans are subcontracted to a third-party company to help manage them. These third-party administrators (TPA's) are specially trained to oversee self-funded health insurance in Texas and must be licensed. When job searching, it is important to note that the size of the company for whom you work has a significant impact on the type of health insurance benefits you'll receive.

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