Practice Development Articles
Intuit Helps Small Businesses Find Affordable Group Health Insurance
By: Intuit
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New Intuit Health Benefits Center — California Focus
August 2009. Starting with the many small businesses in California, Intuit has created an online Health Benefits Center for small businesses that want to learn more about group health insurance options, and find affordable plans for their employees. The site includes free benchmarking across other businesses (see below).
This is good news for your clients in California. While each carrier has specific eligibility requirements (see them on the website), in general, employers need to have at least two W2 employees (can include the owner) to enroll in one of the plans being offered.
The Small Business Dilemma. Many small business owners would like to provide employees with group health insurance but are put off by the cost or the complexity of choosing the right plan.
No Pressure: Information When You Want It
Learn about Group Health Insurance Options. The Intuit Health Benefits Center provides resources that help small business owners grasp the basics of group health insurance and find out if their companies are eligible. [Note 1]
Small business owners can also read useful tips about how to buy a plan, and get advice on which type of plan may be best for their business.
Business owners can learn what other businesses like theirs are choosing (and how much they are paying). [Note 2]
Shop for Plans
For business owners who are looking for an affordable plan, there is also a section called Shop for Plans. Business owners can evaluate and compare some of the most affordable HMO, PPO and H.S.A.-compatible plans from Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente, and Anthem.
No Pressure. Business owners can enter just a few basic facts about their business into the website's quoting tool to get a free, no obligations quote. They will not be required to provide any contact information beforehand. At any time, business owners can contact an Intuit Alliance Broker who can answer questions, or help them finalize their decision and enroll. [Note 1]
Tax Benefits: Businesses can generally deduct 100 percent of the premiums they pay on qualifying group health plans. They may also be able to reduce payroll taxes. Finally, participating employees can pay their portion of the monthly premium with pre-tax dollars.
How This Helps You
You may have clients who have questions about group health benefit plans and who are stymied because they think they can't afford them. With this website from Intuit, you can confidently refer them to an unbiased, helpful resource where they can learn more and then explore various options in an environment that has no pressure, just "help when they need it."
Next Step: Please refer your California small business clients to http://www.intuithealthbenefitscenter.com
- The information provided on the website is provided by EmployeeMatters Insurance Agency, Inc (License #0C97555) doing business in California as Intuit Insurance Services, a licensed insurance agency (Stratford, Connecticut; principal place of business Mountain View, California) and an affiliate of Intuit Inc. to provide you with important insurance information. The program is currently only available in California.
- The information on this site may not be relevant in states other than California nor is it statistically representative of any specific or general population. The answers to certain questions were obtained from a random survey of QuickBooks small business users and the results have been summarized for your convenience. We hope they are helpful to you; however, these answers may not apply to your business and may not be complete or provide all the important details.
Last Updated: 08/18/2009
