Group health insurance is one of the most significant benefits that employers might offer employees. If you receive this benefit from an employer, educate yourself about what exactly the group health insurance plan includes by asking human resources these questions.
What is the Employee's Premium Payment?
Employers that offer a group health insurance plan may pay the plan's premium in full, but it's common for an employer to pass some of the premium onto employees. Many employers split premiums with their employees.
Find out whether your employer splits the group health plan's premium with employees, and what your share of the premium is if they do. You'll need to know this for your own budgeting purposes, as the amount that you pay will be deducted from your paychecks
Even if you pay a significant portion of the premium, an employer-sponsored group health plan is still a major benefit. You won't pay the entire premium, and the plan may give you coverage that you wouldn't be able to obtain on your own.
Does the Plan Include Dental and Vision?
Some group health insurance plans include dental insurance and/or vision insurance, and some group health plans don't include these additional coverages. Additionally, a few plans may provide dental and vision coverage for children but not adults. Finally, some plans that do include these additional coverages charge no additional fee for them, and some do charge for them.
Your employer's human resources department will know whether dental and/or vision are included in a group health plan, and HR will also know who's covered and if coverage costs more.
Go over these details so that you can determine whether you want to pay for the added coverages—if an extra fee is charged for them. You'll also want to make sure you take advantage of the coverages if they are included.
Is the Plan a High-Deductible Health Insurance Policy?
High-deductible health plans (HDHPs) offer affordable access to healthcare services, and they're especially popular among employers who want to offer lower-wage workers a group health insurance plan that they can afford.
HDHPs are defined by large deductibles that must be paid out-of-pocket, but they can be paired with a health savings account (HSA) that makes any deductible payment a tax deduction. Moreover, money invested in an HSA can carry over year-to-year as savings for medical emergencies.
Find out right away whether your group health plan is an HDHP, so you can set up an HSA if the plan is one.
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