What Should Be The Employee Strength To Buy Group Health Insurance For A Company?

By Author: Allaboutinsurance
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As per IRDAI, a company must have a strength of at least 20 employees to be eligible to buy group medical insurance. However, as an employer of a small business, you can also buy a micro-insurance plan even if you have an employee count of 5, which can also cover the family members. However, the limit on the number of employees depends on the insurance company.

Group health insurance is a health insurance plan that an employer provides with the help of general insurance companies in India. It covers all qualified members of the group. As the risk is shared among several members, a group mediclaim policy often provides coverage at a lower cost than individual health insurance. The Affordable Care Act governs group health insurance in both the individual and group markets.

How Does Group Health Insurance Policy Help Small Businesses?
In India, small and medium enterprises are very competitive, and employers have to be on trend to stay relevant in the market and attract and retain talent. Small companies, along with large companies, are moving toward offering the benefits of GHC to their employees to retain ...
... them.

Here are a few ways how group health insurance helps small businesses -

Employee Care
Group medical insurance policy is a way to showcase their care and compassion toward the employees. This helps build a good relationship between the employer and the employees, resulting in maximum productivity and loyalty.

Lower Hiring Costs
Employees who offer group health medical insurance retain their employees, which reduces the cost of hiring new employees.

Tax Benefits
Group health insurance also offers tax rebates, in addition to securing your employees financially. You are the one who is paying the premium so that you can avail the benefits of tax deductions.

Opportunity to Scale Your Business
Offering GHC is one of the best ways to scale your business. If you offer GHC to your employees, they will stay, which means the productivity will be higher, which ultimately means there will be more scope for work and expansion.

What are the Types of Group Health Insurance Policy?
There are two types of group insurance plans: non-contributory and contributory. Here is what each one means

● Non-contributory - In this form of group insurance plan, group members or workers do not have to pay a premium to receive policy benefits. For example, a non-contributory group insurance plan is one in which the employer pays the premium for the employee's insurance coverage.

● Contributory - As the name implies, it is a type of group insurance plan in which group members pay the premium (in part or in full) to receive the advantages of insurance coverage.

What are the Benefits of GHC?
GHC can also be extended to cover the employee's family in addition to the following -
● Access to the best healthcare centres
● Access to a wide range of network hospital
● Affordable than the health insurance plan
● Cover pre-existing conditions or illness from day one
● They do not have to undergo medical checkups
● Maternity coverage for the employee and their spouse
● Coverage for dependent spouses, children, parents, etc.

Who Can Sign Up for GHC?
An employee must be on the payroll, and the employer must pay payroll taxes in order to be eligible for the group health insurance policy. Retirees, independent contractors, retirees, and seasonal or temporary employees are ineligible for group coverage. Also, employees on unpaid leave are frequently ineligible for group benefits until they return to work.

In general, an employee's spouse and dependent children must be granted group healthcare coverage until the age of 26. However, it depends on the insurance companies to extend the age definition for minor dependents. Employers may also choose to provide health benefits to unmarried partners of the same or opposite sex, but the coverage must be equivalent to that provided to spouses on the same plan.

So, a company with less than 20 employees can also offer group medical insurance to their employees, as it helps them to retain their employees and attract new people. This helps in the expansion of their business, especially for small-scale businesses.