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Ask HN: Health Insurance Options for New Small Company
I've never started a company before and I'm looking for suggestions about where to look for health insurance coverage in the US. The company will start with 2 remote people, one in New York and one in Alabama. One needs family coverage and the other needs individual +spouse. Adding a few employees is planned within a year.
- pdq 8y agoYou should probably clarify the type of insurance. I'm assuming health insurance. Since it's a small company, and employees are in different locations, I don't think a group policy will be worthwhile. I'd recommend a reimbursement model, where employees find their own insurance, and you can apply the reimbursement to their paycheck, so it's tax deductible by the company.
- kgwxd 8y agoI updated the question text. Thanks.
- stevesearer 8y agoI had an issue similar to this where my company did not qualify for a group health insurance plan because we did not have over 50% of employees in a single state (Owner in CA, one employee in OR, other employee in TX). After some searching around I came across something know as a QSEHRA (qualified small employer health reimbursement arrangement) which allows qualified small employers to reimburse employee health coverage. We like it because it allows the employee to choose a plan that fits their needs and we don't have to manage anything other than setting the limits and adding the reimbursement amount to their paycheck. It is important to note that if you opt to reimburse an employees coverage using such a plan they no longer qualify for any government health insurance subsidy. The company we use to manage this plan is PeopleKeep and they have a short writeup about what it is and how it works here: https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/what-is-a-qsehra https://www.peoplekeep.com/blog/what-is-a-qsehra