Tuesday, October 30, 2007

An Overview of Employee Health Insurance Plans

There are many reasons why people choose to work for an employer. Issues such as interesting work, flexible yours, a family friendly environment, and salary are typical reasons why some employers can attract better employees than their competitors. Perhaps the most important facet of keeping and retaining the best employees is to offer comprehensive and affordable employee health insurance plans. The cost of health care has been skyrocketing in recent years which has pushed premiums for health insurance through the roof. Large companies can negotiate with insurance providers to obtain the most cost effective plans for their employees, and employees can obtain insurance at a rate far below what they would be able to find if not a member of their employer's group benefits plan.

The traditional employee health insurance plan is a so called preferred provider plan (PPO). PPO plans offer a great deal of flexibility in terms of care providers. PPO plans allow policy holder to be in control of their health care and choose their own primary care physicians and specialists. Unfortunately, PPO plans are almost entirely consumer based, which means that the PPO providers are not under tight price controls.

Health management organization (HMO) plans have become increasingly popular in recent years. HMO health insurance plans typically offer lower premiums and deductibles than PPO plans, but that lower price comes with a tradeoff. With HMO plans, you have much less flexibility to choose your own care providers.

A new trend in employee health insurance plans is the so called health savings account. Health savings accounts place much more of the burden on employees, who must pay for all of their medical care through a special savings account that both they and their employer contribute to. Health savings accounts have come under fire as methods to let employers skimp on health coverage for employees. Nevertheless, more and more companies are going with such plans.

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